THINGS are certainly hotting up for one Amman Valley charity which has agreed to supply chillies from its crop on a Saron farm to supermarket giants Tesco.

The crop, the largest chilli type in Wales, forms part of a project between Teen Challenge and The Really Welsh Trading Company, and is growing on Hope Acres Farm.

The 44-acre site is used as a training complex for the charity, which is a Christian faith-based community organisation that helps people caught up with drug and alcohol addictions.

While The Really Welsh Trading Company has usually donated cash - 5% of their profits since 2005 - to charities, officials at Teen Challenge asked for agricultural expertise plus marketing advice and support.

This led to the crop being grown and the chillies, including Hungarian Wax, Thai Sun and Cherry Bomb, have been hot property ever since.

Rhiannon Williams, brand manager for The Really Welsh Trading Company, said: “It has been a fantastic link with Hope Acres. We pack the chillies and have been selling them at food fairs where they are in big demand. They will be supplied to Tesco in the next couple of weeks.

“Really Welsh have worked with Hope Acres since the middle of 2007 to offer some agricultural advice on what would grow best in the soils and conditions in Ammanford - so we thought chillies would be great as they do not take up too much space and, like the Welsh Dragon, they’ll have you breathing fire!”

The project is also in line for recognition in the Assembly-managed True Taste Wales food and drink awards, to be announced next month. The youngsters involved in the Hope Acres scheme come from all over the UK and the project development director, Mike Rankin, says they are all very enthusiastic and enjoy working on the farm.

“A good day’s physical work does help them,” he enthuses. “At Teen Challenge we try to teach the work ethic because our aim is to get the youngsters back into full time employment.

“Growing chillies is only one part of the rehabilitation process. We have also planted apple trees and are hoping to produce chutneys and sauces.”