Project Description
Saint George Valley Organic Farming (SGVOF) is an organic farm which will produce and sell organic medicinal and aromatic plants such as Lavender, Helichrysum and Chamomile in the form of fresh or dried whole herbs. Its customers will be spices exporters and essential oil distillers, who can use them in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries around the world. By controlling the entire production and post-harvest processes, from renting the fields, preparing the lands and planting the seedlings, to servicing the fields, harvesting the herbs and delivering them to the clients, SGVOF will ensure to its clients very high quality standards and full traceability of products, while being organically certified. SGVOF will start with an area of 23 hectares which has been identified as suitable environment for the three herbs. Because of the growing demand for these types of products, we plan to expand to 100 hectares in 10 years.
We operate as a Social Business, which according to Prof. Yunus’ definition is a “non-dividend company created to solve a social problem. Like an NGO, it has a social mission, but like a business, it generates its own revenues to cover its costs. While investors may recoup their investment, all further profits are reinvested into the same or other social businesses”. SGVOF is the first Social Business in the field of agriculture in Albania. The social purpose is to provide local employment to an otherwise very poor area of rural Albania, and support the regional economy by empowering villagers to better their life by learning and using the organic farming practices, creating real business opportunities – for example agro-tourism, production of organic bee and other agricultural products, organic restaurants, etc.. We will encourage entrepreneurship in the targeted region by providing consulting services to micro-entrepreneurs and we will support students and farmers to adopt organic practices through trainings and internship.
