How the Martin Bauer Group is helping in the face of Covid-19

As one of the leading companies in herbal and fruit teas, since April 2020 the Martin Bauer Group has been providing rapid and direct assistance to supply chain partners around the world. It is helping more than 60,000 people to get through the Covid-19 emergency.

The Group is collaborating with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), German investment company DEG, humanitarian and development organisations Mercy Corps and CARE International, and its customer Pukka Herbs.

Connected to people on five continents
The Martin Bauer Group processes around 200 different high-quality plants, which are cultivated or collected on five continents. It has mainly long-term relationships with approximately 400 supply partners. The Covid-19 pandemic is having a negative impact on most of them, although to very differing degrees.

In spring 2020 we conducted a survey of supply partners, gaining an overview of the effect business closures, delivery stops, lockdowns and other measures to prevent the spread of the disease were having in the various regions. We wanted to know where the pandemic was seriously threatening life and livelihoods, and what local people needed most. Once concrete needs had been established, staff at the Vestenbergsgreuth site could set about organizing targeted assistance.

Committed to family values
“We are a family business that is shaped by strong family values,” says Adolf Wedel, Managing Partner of the parent company MB-Holding. “We see ourselves, our employees, our customers, our supply partners and the people in the places where we work as one big community. And we care about the health and security of that community. In challenging times like these, we don’t waste time pondering, we gladly assume our responsibility.”

Ensuring nutrition in Lesotho and Zimbabwe
In places where Covid-19 has placed restrictions on transportation, retail and freedom of movement, some families cannot access adequate quantities of food. The Martin Bauer Group therefore puts together nutritious packages of beans, rice and oil for wild collectors, smallholders and farm workers in Lesotho and Zimbabwe, where it operates two herb farms and has set up a project for smallholders who cultivate hibiscus. More than 8,000 families have received the packages.

Protecting health in India, Kyrgyzstan and Zimbabwe
Regular hand washing helps prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. However, families working in the tea supply chain in India, the wild apple supply chain in Kyrgyzstan and on our farms in Zimbabwe do not have adequate access to soap, detergents, disinfectant, and face coverings. These items are either not available because of high demand, or are unaffordable for many in the fraught economic climate. The Martin Bauer Group has distributed 9,500 hygiene packages including informational material. It also holds regular training sessions to explain how families can effectively protect themselves from the virus.

There are also plans to equip workers in Zimbabwe with durable protective clothing. This will be manufactured locally, bringing much-needed income. The clothing is to be distributed at newly erected health stations, which will pool a range of Covid-19 emergency measures including checking people’s temperature. Hygiene will be improved thanks to mobile water tanks, and safe transportation will be provided for farm workers.

Providing financial stability in India
Covid-19 restrictions can plunge families into financial difficulties. We have therefore provided financial assistance to 200 families in the Orthosiphon supply chain in India. This gives the families greater financial stability, ensuring they can continue to pay for important things like food and schooling.