Living Gold, the high-tech rose farm established by Gold Fields in Carletonville west of Johannesburg, has scooped top honours for the Product of the Year category at the 2006 WesBank Proudly South African (HomeGrown) Awards.
Living Gold was recognised for its contribution to enterprise development. It was highlighted that since its creation in 2003 Living Gold has become an established player in the floriculture industry, setting high standards for the quality of its product and service. To date the project has created 320 new full-time jobs, trained 650 people in specialist rose growing, produced 60 million rose stems and exported 30 million rose stems to the US, Europe, Asia and Australia.
“Living Gold is living proof that we are proudly South African. This award was won against tough competition and we are proud of what Living Gold has achieved as a three-year-old business. Our investment (together with that of our partner the IDC), has created a thriving business in an area of unemployment. It is a business that sets the benchmark for Gold Fields’s further enterprise development projects, currently being implemented across the globe,” said Gold Fields CEO Ian Cockerill. – Staff reporter
See Farmer’s Weekly, 25 May issue, page 30
