A Roma success story in Bulgaria.

It is well known that throughout history life has been very hard for most of the Roma communities in Europe and the situation is still the same. These communities are often suffering from poverty, unemployment and lack of education as the children often leave school at an early age, if they start at all. As a large employer in our district we at Vinex Slavyantsi realized that we together with everyone buying our wines could help change this negative spiral and help to create a different future for our local Roma community, hoping also to set an example and inspire others to do the same.

Where we are located, in South Eastern Bulgaria not so far from the Black sea in the district also known as Rose Valley, men and women from the Roma community have been part of the wine production for centuries. Today they represent 30% of our workforce, but our goal is for that figure to grow. In the villages of Sungulare, Slavyantsi and Chubra, where our vinyards and wineries are located and most of our employees live, we have since the start of the LEVA foundation in 2008 supported our local communities by giving financial help to hundreds of children so they can go to pre-school, primary school, or even receive scholarships for further education at universities and technical institutes in bigger cities in Bulgaria.

The LEVA Foundation also organizes social- and cultural activities and sports events, as well as funds healthcare and social needs. We believe that investing in our children, education and integration is an investment for the future for the whole community!