Harvesting Hope ("we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your information when you visit our website at harvestinghope.africa or interact with our services.
This policy is drafted in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa.
1. Information We Collect
We may collect the following types of personal information:
- Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, and physical address when you fill in forms, make a purchase, or contact us.
- Payment Information: Payment details when you purchase products or make donations through our website. Payment processing is handled by secure third-party providers; we do not store your full payment card details.
- Usage Data: Information about how you use our website, including IP address, browser type, pages visited, time spent on pages, and referring URLs.
- Communication Data: Records of correspondence when you contact us via email, contact forms, or other channels.
- Newsletter Subscriptions: Email address and name when you subscribe to our mailing list.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
- To process orders, donations, and payments
- To communicate with you about your purchases, donations, or enquiries
- To send newsletters and updates about our work (only with your consent)
- To improve our website, products, and services
- To comply with legal obligations
- To detect and prevent fraud or abuse
3. Data Storage and Security
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:
- SSL/TLS encryption on our website
- Secure third-party payment processing
- Access controls limiting who can view personal data
- Regular review of our data collection and storage practices
We retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law.
4. Third-Party Services
We may use third-party service providers to assist with:
- Payment processing (e.g., PayFast, Stripe)
- Email marketing and newsletters
- Website analytics (e.g., Google Analytics)
- Website hosting
These providers may have access to your personal information only to perform specific tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services we use.
5. Cookies
Our website may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We may use:
- Essential Cookies: Required for the website to function properly.
- Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our website.
- Marketing Cookies: Used to deliver relevant content and advertisements.
You can control cookie settings through your browser preferences. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.
6. Your Rights Under POPIA
Under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), you have the following rights:
- Right of Access: You may request confirmation of whether we hold your personal information and request access to it.
- Right to Correction: You may request that we correct or update inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
- Right to Deletion: You may request the deletion of your personal information where it is no longer necessary for the purpose it was collected.
- Right to Object: You may object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes.
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.
- Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your personal information has been mishandled.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below.
7. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal information, please contact us:
8. Updates to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
Your continued use of our website after any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.
