Developed as part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, the initiative seeks to improve the livelihoods of the consumers that utilise Unilever’s products. “This distinctive exchange initiative demonstrates the power of collaboration in ensuring a brighter future for all South African inhabitants,” confirms Nakagawa Marcos, vice president of Brand Building: Foods.

The Wildlands’ model involves the trade of indigenous trees for hampers that are made up of a prescribed list of Unilever’s health and well-being products, such as Sunlight, Lifebuoy, Domestos and Rajah, together with a few products purchased through its partnership with MassCash, providing tinned fish and baked beans. According to Marcos, “Unilever aims to create sustainable communities and through our partnership with Wildlands, communities are empowered and given a purpose.”

The hampers are bartered in exchange for over 450 000 indigenous trees from approximately 2000 Tree-preneurs across Wildlands’ network of 80 communities nationally.

Unilever’s contribution to the activation leverages funding received from national and provincial government to enable the barter of this large number of hampers. “Wildlands packs and distributes approximately 10 000 hampers across their communities over the course of 2015,” says Marcos, “the number of lives improved by these hampers is staggering.”

The premise of the system is to change the perception of getting a ‘hand-out’, showing these communities how they can better their lives through entrepreneurial ventures. According to Wildlands’ CEO, Dr Andrew Venter; “We promote entrepreneurship with our barter-reward model, based on national greening activities. When partners like Unilever come forward with items that can add value to the lives of our hard working Tree-preneurs, we are extremely appreciative and grateful.”

Unilever and Wildlands aim to roll-out approximately 20 Bright Future Activation Days throughout 2015, where the Wildlands Activation Unit will carry out health and well-being product demonstrations. The Bright Future Activation Days began in early May 2015 and, since then, various activations have been held in communities such as Uthungulu and Dududuku in Northern KwaZulu-Natal to great success.

“Through partnerships such as the one we have with Wildlands, Unilever continues to create a brighter future for communities like the people of Ndwedwe by empowering them to improve their own lives and inspire their children,” concludes Marcos.

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