Sustainable approach
“The spirit of the organic community is quite different from the conventional one. Not all companies trade organically, necessarily, but that’s why we have to learn. My vision for the sustainable approach is that we have to care for people, for the environment, and for the economic growth in countries in which the situation is difficult,” Andreas continues. Climate change, water and energy management are also important spearheads of Don Limón. “And these points are now also important for conventional production.”
Limes
“Sweet potatoes are easier to grow organically, and we can handle this on a global base. Growing organic limes is much more complicated, and so far not interesting for the European market. But because fresh sweet potatoes cannot enter the US, it’s very interesting for the European market.
Our Mission is to grow fruits and vegetable together with our smallholder farmer and transform their crops from cash crops to so called high value crops. By distribution the product worldwide we are able to get out the highest value for our producer. It is complex and very demanding concerning agriculture knowledge, cultural knowledge and market knowledge.
For example the steps we take for our Mexican lime distribution are as follows: We harvest, wash, sort and wax the limes. They are then fine-screened and packed. Perfect-shaped limes are sent to high-quality markets, such as Japan. The greener but less juicy limes are sent to Europe, and the regular-looking, juicy limes are meant for North America. Damaged limes are processed into juice.” That means that every fruit – quality-, size-, color and texture wise – has its clear destination. Knowing to do the right things and fighting in the right market to get the highest value – that is the art of adding value to the product from small holder farmer. In our own production we learned these details.
Impact
Don Limón started as an import company 10 years ago, but is now a production company. “A market has to be found for all of our products. However, we also have development projects for which we approach the German and other governments, to do projects in many countries. We cooperate with several companies from other sectors and countries – so we have more impact when working together. As competitors, this might be more difficult, but by working together, we can make these markets strong without losing them.” It is very satisfying for me and all our employee to see the positive impacts we are creating with our work – social-, economic- and environmental wise. It is great to do a job which make sense.
SDGs
“Our biggest customers, and many of the involved institutions we are cooperating with, are speaking the language of the UN’s SDGs, or Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs help companies become more sustainable. For us, it’s important to fight poverty, to have gender equality, to have a good water management and decent water conditions, and to provide decent work and economic growth. These are our goals. For most of the people in Agriculture and in family businesses the language of sustainability is very established and quite logical – so we are not really teaching them anything. Most of the time we are learning. Sustainability is normal for responsible and good people. Our business is driven by good hearted and educated people. We love it!” said Andreas.
For more information:
Andreas Schindler
Pilz Schindler GmbH
Tel: +49 0 40 3095499 45
Mob: +49 0 171 8583 211
aschindler@pilz-schindler.de
www.don-limon.de