Rural communities' undertaking of sustainable wild harvesting and trading of valuable natural resources has potential for alleviating rural poverty, sustaining range and forest management, and encouraging trade with developed markets internationally. Where conventional value chains have developed to bring these products to the market, the chains have not always attained these three desired impacts. For this reason, new production and marketing models have emerged, based on certification of quality and production methods. This paper is intended to establish the degree of effectiveness of the certification model in promoting sustainable trade in wild- harvested natural products, by means of reviewing experiences in developing an alternative, organically certified value chain for the marketing of Devil's Claw (Harpagophytum spp.) harvested by rural communities in Namibia. Keywords: Plant distribution, devil's claw, Niche markets, From exploitation to fair trade, Main applications.