Niagara College’s projects to support gender equality and social inclusion worldwide involve initiatives in the brewing industry, drawing from the NC Teaching Brewery’s expertise.
In 2020, Niagara College was awarded a one year Crafting Women Brewmasters in Bhutan Project, which has since been extended in Bhutan, South Asia, with the particular goal of supporting female and young brewers in the country. The project’s collective aim is to support the development of a gender-inclusive, sustainable craft brewing employment sector.
As part of this project, NC is hosting its partners from Ser Bhum Brewery Private Ltd (SBB), a Bhutanese craft brewery, from January 23 to 28 to share best practices of Niagara’s craft beer industry and explore the impact of businesses within the beverage industry. The project is part of a seven-year program developed and funded by the Government of Canada’s Canadian Trade and Investment Facility for Development (CTIF) and is carried out through a partnership between NC and SBB. The project’s objectives are to enhance the brewery’s operations and management capabilities and access to new markets, as well as to provide economic and professional development opportunities to women in Bhutan’s brewing industry.
One of the visit’s highlights is a Brew Day at Niagara College where the SBB team will join NC students to craft a beer at the college’s Teaching Brewery. The group is also touring the NC Wine Visitor and Education Centre and local breweries such as Oast Brewing Company, Exchange Brewery, Bench Brewery, Newark Brewing and more. During their visit, they will participate in capacity-building sessions hosted by NC experts related to sustainability, brewing, marketing, and promotion. Additionally, partners from Bhutan will attend the Master Brewers Conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
As the project began during the COVID-19 pandemic, NC adapted the project’s program delivery method to an online format, which provided greater access to beverage innovation training for SBB employees. In September 2022, SBB hosted Niagara College experts in Bhutan to support project deliverables related to the expansion plan, capacity-building, standard operating procedures, and health and safety.
Niagara College Sustainability Manager, Taryn Wilkinson, was on the mission to Bhutan last September and has been supporting the project as a technical expert in sustainability.
“It has been reciprocally beneficial to work with a company that supports building the capacity of women in management and operational leadership roles as well as addressing the increasing challenges associated with the environment and climate change,” said Wilkinson. “We were fortunate to experience the brewery, the natural surroundings, the business environment, and cultural context in Bhutan, and we’re thrilled to now host our partners and showcase NC’s facilities within the Canadian landscape.”
Through these initiatives, NC continues to support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG number four (“Quality Education”), SDG number five (“Gender Equality”), SDG number eight (“Decent Work and Economic Growth”), and SDG number 13 (“Climate Action”).
“Being on the team that worked with Ser Bhum was a wonderful experience, from the startup process, navigating the pandemic, to finally being able to conclude the project with a visit to Bhutan,” said NC Brewmaster Jon Downing, who also took part in the mission to Bhutan last September and has supported the project as a technical expert in the brewing industry. “We are eager to introduce our partners to a class of NC Brewing students and work together to craft a unique collaboration beer.”
This month, the partnership between NC and SBB was highlighted in the NC’s Teaching Brewery Growler Club’s newsletter. In addition to sharing information about the project, the Club interpreted one of SBB’s products, the Ser Bhum Munich Lager, for January’s Growler Club Beer.
Over the past 20 years, Niagara College has successfully completed more than 100 capacity building and training projects in over 25 countries, including Barbados, Bhutan, Chile, Colombia, Grenada, Jamaica, Malawi, Mexico, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Vietnam. For more information on Global Education and Partnerships and how to get involved, visit ncglobal.ca.
