MEMBERS MONTHLY MEETUP – UPHOLD FAIR LABOUR 15th AUGUST 2023

Heidi Spurrell | 17th August 2023 | 4min read

 

The Future Green team with Members at La Cabane

Amidst the busy, tourist-filled streets of Mid-Levels rests a red, wooden wine bistro, La Cabane. This month’s Members Meetup is held there. La Cabane’s immersive wine barrel-like interior design displays their pride in natural, organic wine collection. Rustic walls meet dark wooden panels, embodying their philosophy of working with small-scale, independent winemakers. This aligns with the Meetup’s theme of Uphold Fair Labour.

Upholding fair labour entails a broad range of business practices that are crucial to the achievement of food social as well as economic sustainability. It also heavily intertwines with seven of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10).

Sofia Lisi, Marketing and Events manager from La Cabane, for this month’s Member Spotlight

In the eyes of refugees 

Our key speaker, Tegan Smyth from Grassroots Future, shares the difficulties that refugees and asylum seekers in Hong Kong face when seeking official refugee status, with a low acceptance rate of <1% as well as a long waiting time. For the 0.5-1% that are accepted, the process of finding a job, as Tegan describes it, can be a “limbo state”. 

Part of Tegan’s work is to facilitate refugees as well as asylum seekers search for job opportunities, with one of the more recent examples being a chef granted the right to work. She further shared how the father of a family of asylum seekers found a job at a local hotel restaurant after not being able to work for 16 years.  

The F&B and hospitality industry can open up employment opportunities particularly for refugee entrepreneurs, where globally-common refugee-powered culinary programmes leave refugees well-equipped. 

The F&B industry additionally facilitates gastrodiplomacy, drawn from one of Tegan’s favourite quotes by Syrian lawyer and chef, Kamal Naji, agreeing that food can allow refugees to “communicate their stories in their own words”. The end result can yield the breaking of stereotypes as well as facilitation of social integration. 

Tegan Smyth from Grassroots Future

Labour in the Modern World

Clemence Aron from The Mekong Club, our second speaker, covered a different but equally important aspect of Fair Labour. She highlighted that modern slavery in the form of forced labour is prevalent in the Asia Pacific region, especially in the private sector.

This is where the Mekong Club comes in to work with companies directly to identify any form of modern slavery in their networks and supply chains. Recent national and regional legislations also became more stringent on modern slavery and human rights protection.

Migrant workers in supply chains are often exploited, as Clemence explains. They can fall into debt due to high recruitment fees. They also face workplace harassment and poor conditions. After returning to their home country, they may experience stigmatisation.

As a result, there are around 15 million people in the Asia Pacific region subjected to modern slavery. Therefore, addressing this issue is complicated by the difficulty of identifying exploited workers in the informal sector.

Clemence Aron from The Mekong Club

In Vino Veritas

After the presentation, Members enjoyed natural red and white wines kindly provided by La Cabane. Their selection was procured from small-scale, independent and family-owned wineries. Testalonga El Bandito, the winemaker couple of the red wine we were served is known for their highly customised and caricatural wine labels. Produced in Swartland, “the cradle of natural wine for South Africa” as Sofia puts it, offers natural wine that is created in dry-farmed, old vineyards with minimal alterations to the winemaking process.

 Red wine Baby Bandito Chin Up provided by La Cabane

Sofia also shared her story of visiting the winemakers of the white wine, Jauma, one of the four pioneers of natural wine in South Australia. Natural wine can be more vibrant, raw and nature-appreciating than conventional wine, which are often additionally processed. 

White wine Jauma 1000 Fires 2022 provided by La Cabane

We were impressed by the rich flavours offered by natural wines, Members discussed their amazing quality and affordability. Animated discussions were had on the status of local refugees. A big thanks to La Cabane for hosting our Meetup! 

 

Wrapping up with lively networking 

Read more about La Cabane and their work in our Member Spotlight.

Want to join our community of change makers? Learn more about our Membership Programme here.

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Contact Us: Got questions or ideas? Email us at hello@futuregreen.global.

Together, we’re not just talking about a sustainable future; we’re building it. Let’s make every meal a story worth telling.

Stay green, stay inspired.

Future Green Team

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