The Rostra Grape Company, nestled in South Africa’s picturesque Cederberg Mountain range, in the quaint town of Trawal, which is the southern gateway to the Namaqualand West Coast, will soon harness energy from the sun through the innovative solar leasing platform, Sun Exchange.
It will also benefit its nominated charity, Zandvliet Care facility in Macassar.
The project will be made possible by a global community of solar supporters who purchase solar cells through the Sun Exchange platform to fund solar projects for organisations involved in education, health care and agriculture.
The farm, now in its eighth year of operation cultivating delicious table grapes, is on a mission to become more sustainable. Since the implementation of new technology to decrease its dependence on diesel during the busy harvesting season, the farm’s next goal is to become energy sufficient and access environmentally conscious and affordable electricity through solar.
“Sun Exchange members earn income from clean electricity generated by solar cells purchased through our platform,” explains Abe Cambridge, founder of Sun Exchange. “These earnings accumulate into their online Sun Exchange wallet. Solar cell owners can choose, at the point of purchase, to donate some or all of their income stream from that solar project to a nominated charity.”
In the case of Rostra Grape’s solar project, Zandvliet Care is a registered non-profit organisation that cares for Macassar’s frail, aged and/or mentally challenged. So not only will Rostra Grape, a small grape growing farm in the Western Cape, benefit from affordable solar energy; Zandvliet Care benefits financially, too, for the 20-year life span of the solar system. “We choose to support Zandvliet Care Facility because of the incredible work they do,” Cambridge added. “We are in awe of the individuals who dedicate their time, hearts and energy into caring for those who need it most. Some residents at Zandvliet don’t have family support and knowing that they are able to find family in this community is such an inspiring act of kindness and humanity. We are proud to support them in any way we can.”
The Zandvliet Care facility is also a solar power beneficiary that recently partnered with Sun Exchange to go solar at no upfront cost. The latter’s solar project (https://thesunexchange.com/project/zandvliet-care-facility) was fully funded by a global community of solar-cell owners within just 10 days. This initiative has resulted in 170 residents’ access to clean, reliable energy and enabled Zandvliet Care to focus its financial resources on providing the same dedicated, quality care they have been for 40 years.
