Bo Weevil
Our mission is to contribute to a healthier and better world by promoting and marketing ecologically and socially sustainable cotton and textiles, making it economically attractive for all parties in the chain.
Bo Weevil aims to increase the market share of organic agriculture with its organic cotton projects. The focus of organic agriculture is on creating a balance between soil, animals, and plants. No chemicals and artificial fertiliser is used and pests are controlled by natural means. The farmers of the projects and Bo Weevil commit themselves to long term agreements. Bo Weevil assists the cotton production and organises the certification and the farmers are able to sell their cotton, guaranteed. Farmers get a fair price for their cotton. Besides Bo Weevil strives to produce clothing and textile that offers advantages to both the people working in the chain and the consumers. It offers health benefits, it increases the share of organic cotton and the consumer makes a statement with the clothing. The high quality fibres make the clothing last longer. The production of the fibres and their processing into fabrics and cloths are carried out with a large respect for man and environment. Our actions are aimed at increasing confidence at all parties involved. We hope to contribute to a sustainable world. are to stimulate, initiate and manage projects in the field of fair trade and sustainable cotton and textile production.Descriptions such as handpicked, green, eco and unbleached are often misleading and give no guarantee of environmentally sound production. Bo Weevil guarantees the ecological quality of its products throughout all the processes of growing, spinning, knitting, manufacturing and printing with controls by an inspection and certification body for organic production. They carry out several inspections per season.
Bo Weevil started the organic cotton production in Turkey. This was in 1989. Bo Weevils cotton was used to produce the first certified organic T-shirt. After the first success Bo Weevil has started projects in the west of the country, where cotton of even better quality is produced. One of the projects in this area is carried out with a German partner, Rapunzel.Bo Weevil cooperates with the Good Food Foundation in Turkey. We share an office and agricultural engineers who visit the farmers regularly. The buying and selling of Turkish cotton by Bo Weevil is carried out in cooperation with Pagysa. This is a Turkish firm and one of the oldest and most important cotton traders in Turkey. We do not only cooperate with farmers who are contracted to us, but we also cooperate with farmers that are part of the Rapunzel project. A large number of the farmers of this project grow cotton as part of their rotation scheme and this cotton is bought by Bo Weevil.
A substantial part of Bo Weevils activities take place in Uganda. We are involved in the “Lango Organic Project” in the north of the country since 1998. 27 000 farmers are committed to this project. Our activities have improved the standard of living greatly. Because people have more money to spend a number of issues have dramatically improved: housing, healthcare, and children go to school because their parents can afford the school fees. In 1998 Bo Weevil has taken up the management of this project and since then it has developed into an example for African projects. Since our presence the nett income has increased significantly and so has the harvest. This is possible because in addition to a premium for organic production farmers receive agronomic training. Our farmers cultivate more and more cotton while other farmers are no longer interested in cotton, because of the low price they receive. The demand for organic and fair trade cotton from our Ugandan project is increasing and we will contract more farmers. Farmers are returning to the areas where social unrest is ending, Bo Weevil wishes to include in the project. Bo Weevil has received a subsidy from the PCEM (Programme Collaboration Emerging Markets, PSOM in Dutch) to finance the realisation of a ginnery in the projects region. This ginnery will be organically certified and it will be fair trade certified. Lango Organic Farming Promotion (LOFP) runs the project, the LOFP is a Ugandan NGO. LOFP organises training and they assist farmers in growing organically. The purchasing of the crop and payment of the farmers is the responsibility of the LOFP. Bo Weevil supports the LOFP fully. We supply farmers with seeds, tools, bicycles, scales, etc.
