RockShop donates hard hats to miners in the municipality of Ametista do Sul
In collaboration with our Brazilian buyer, we contacted Sindipedras, (The Union of Jewelry, Mining, Processing and Transformation of Precious Stones), to see if there was any way we could help the miners, who work the mines where we source a large majority of our Brazilian crystals. Their reply told us that PPE, (Personal Protective Equipment), was needed. These miners are artisans and self-employed, they work in small groups or as individuals and often find it hard to locate and purchase the correct PPE.
Below is a local press release with translation.
Translation
The Union of Jewelry, Mining, Processing and Transformation of Precious Stones – Sindipedras, which is headquartered in Soledade, brokered the donation of 150 helmets to miners in the municipality of Ametista do Sul.
The donation of helmets was made possible by a client company in the stone sector, the RockShop in England. The delivery took place this Wednesday morning, 06/09, at the headquarters of the Middle Alto Uruguay Garimpeiros Cooperative – Coogamai, in Ametista do Sul.
Coogamai's president, Izaldir Sganzerla, and Sindipedras' president, Gilberto Bortoluzzi, who also represented the RockShop company and the agent Ricardo took part in the delivery, as well as sought resources from the client.
Gilberto Bortoluzzi celebrated the action taken. “Customers want the guarantee that the work in the garimpos is completely safe, following all technical standards and this donation shows the customer's concern”, Rnalizado.
RockShop donates face masks to Appesol to help in the fight against Coronavirus
We take enormous pride in knowing our crystals are sourced ethically and miners and anyone associated with the supply chain are treated and paid fairly. However, 2020 presented new challenges and we were asked to provide face masks to Appesol (Association of stone workers of Soledade, Brazil)
Ensuring that the workers were able to work safely was of paramount importance to us; these workshops manufacture a large percentage of our crystal products, we felt compelled to help them in any way that we could, especially when considering the devastating impact the pandemic has had on Brazil.
Below you can read a translated article published in the local press last July.
Translation
Sensitized by the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, businessman Mr Jonathan Bourhouse, from England, made the donation of masks to the the Association of Small Workers of Soledade. The delivery of the personal protection materials took place on the morning of Thursday, 30/7, and had the collaboration of Sindipedras and business agent Ricardo.
In all, 1,650 masks were given to workers in the sector, represented by the Association of Small workers of Soledade (Appesol). Mr Bourhouse is a client of many years of the stone segment and decided to make his contribution, contemplating the small companies that are part of this production chain.
