Partner Background
The Vines Foundation (TVF) is a catalyst for positive change in Tunuyán, a city in the western province of Mendoza, Argentina. Tunuyán is located in the Uco Valley, a largely rural region that is known for its wine and other agricultural products. We are a dedicated partner who supports sustainable initiatives that improve the overall health and vibrancy of the Tunuyán community. TVF is the philanthropic arm of The Vines, an Argentine farming, winemaking and hospitality company with deep connections to international resources through our clients in the US, Europe and Brazil. TVF leverages these resources to meet the immediate and long-term needs and aspirations of the local community through enhancing holistic community health, improving food security, and promoting sustainable livelihoods. Through our work, we engage community members, public, and private sector partners to solve complex challenges.
Definition of Opportunity
TVF is currently working to build a community center in Tunuyán. While the center will serve as a hub for all of our programming, its primary feature will be a vocational (trade) school. The school will focus on helping aspiring professionals develop the skills necessary to secure stable (year-round) jobs, particularly in the hospitality, tourism, and gastronomic industries.
Why a vocational school? Tunuyán is a dry and dusty region of the Uco Valley with an agriculture-based industry that has been particularly impacted by climate change. Irregular rainfall and volatility between cold and extreme heat, combined with insufficient infrastructure and production facilities to promote rural development, have caused economic uncertainty to skyrocket. Like many industries in Argentina, the agricultural sector experiences high rates of informality. Laborers often lack workers’ protection and access to social security, and face volatile labor demand due to the seasonal nature of agricultural work. Around 40 percent of Tunuyán’s 55,000 residents live in poverty.
This vocational center hopes to create long-term stability through stable employment. Through extensive research (including from ND students!) and community surveys, we have concluded that a vocational school is the best way for our foundation to invest in the sustainable development of Tunuyán. Our ability to leverage the resources and knowledge of The Vines’ hospitality, gastronomy, and agricultural expertise will allow us to build out an effective program that enables young professionals to secure positions promising a sustainable income and a stable future. Our connections to other restaurants, hotels, and wineries in the region, as well as local universities and technical authorities, will ensure we are tuned in to the changing needs of the industries we seek to place our graduates in.
For the Uco Valley community, these programs represent an opportunity for economic development by creating a skilled workforce that can support and attract businesses in the hospitality industry. For the students, these programs provide a path to financial stability, career advancement, and personal growth, including essential life skills like teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. By improving the well-being of individuals, we aim to foster a thriving and dynamic community.
Vision of Success
Through this partnership, we hope to be better equipped to begin with the end in mind. 1) We can define the core elements of the vocational school that we can articulate to the local community (and potential students) as well as internationally (potential donors). 2) We have successful models we can draw inspiration from, and ideas of how we might adapt them for Tunuyán. 3) We have a proposed structure for the courses, and a reason for choosing this structure. 4) We have a clear direction for evaluating the development and measuring the success of the vocational school (impact evaluation/KPIs). 5) We can build an internal process to ensure our efforts are consistently contributing to our goals.