Sustainable harvesting of wild rooibos Poor man's cup of tea no longer Wi Id rooi bos (Aspalathus linearis) is now an internationally renowned choice health beverage Drieka Kotle, local harvester and member of the Heiveld Co-operative, Suid Bokkeveld. Photo: Rhoda Louw. by Rhoda Louw, Leslie Hill Institute for Plant Conservation, Botany Department, University of Cape Town and Philippa Huntly, environmental writer The Suid Bokkeveld, Northern Cape. Reproduced with kind permission from the Heiveld Co-operative from Heiveld Organic Rooibos Tea: Produced with Pride. Map: Bettina Koelle. 154 September 2006 Veld&Flora For centuries veld tea or 'wild rooibos' has been harvested from the leaves of Aspalathus linearis, fermented and brewed as tea. These days most rooibos comes in tea bags, and is produced in vast plantations. The rooibos that most of us are familiar with was selected from wild rooibos early in the twen- tieth century, and is a fast growing sub-species of Aspalathus linearis that produces prolific amounts of seed, and dies after fire. The wild rooibos of the Suid Bokkeveld is slower growing than the cultivated variety, and re-sprouts from the roots after fire. It produces relatively little seed. Long regarded as the 'poor rela- tive' and not highly valued because of the hard work involved in harvesting it, most wild rooibos is blended with cultivated rooibos to enhance its flavour and colour. Veld tea has long been an important resource for the poor. According to Oom Koos Paulse of the Suid Bokkeveld, during the fifties when the 'coloured people had nothing', the tea sustained them when they could not afford to buy coffee, and he remembers his mother sending him out into the veld to harvest veld tea. Members of rural communities in the Suid Bokkeveld of the Northern Cape organised themselves into a small-scale producer co-operative during 2000. Before 2002 when the Heiveld Co- operative launched wild rooibos on the market as a unique niche product, veld tea had no unique value in the trade or amongst consumers. Four years later, what used to be the rural 'poor man's cup of tea' is now a choice health bever- age internationally, having found par- ticular favour in the European market. What is rooibos? Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) is a fyn- bos plant species endemic to the Cape Floristic Region. In its wild state its natural distribution is only along the western and southern coastal interior of South Africa. It is one of 278 species in the genus Aspalathus. The cultivated rooibos on which the national industry is based was selected in the Cederberg Mountains and propagated from seed.
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Sustainable harvesting of wild rooibos
Poor man'scup of teano longerWi Id rooi bos (Aspalathuslinearis) is now aninternationally renownedchoice health beverage
Drieka Kotle, local harvester and member of the Heiveld Co-operative, SuidBokkeveld. Photo: Rhoda Louw.
by Rhoda Louw, Leslie Hill Institute for Plant Conservation, Botany Department, University
of Cape Town and Philippa Huntly, environmental writer
The Suid Bokkeveld, Northern Cape.Reproduced with kind permission from theHeiveld Co-operative from Heiveld OrganicRooibos Tea: Produced with Pride. Map:Bettina Koelle.
154 September 2006 Veld&Flora
For centuries veld tea or 'wild rooibos'has been harvested from the leavesof Aspalathus linearis, fermented andbrewed as tea. These days most rooibos
comes in tea bags, and is produced invast plantations. The rooibos that mostof us are familiar with was selectedfrom wild rooibos early in the twen
tieth century, and is a fast growingsub-species of Aspalathus linearis thatproduces prolific amounts of seed, anddies after fire.
The wild rooibos of the Suid Bokkeveld
is slower growing than the cultivatedvariety, and re-sprouts from the rootsafter fire. It produces relatively littleseed. Long regarded as the 'poor relative' and not highly valued because ofthe hard work involved in harvesting
it, most wild rooibos is blended withcultivated rooibos to enhance its flavourand colour.
Veld tea has long been an important
resource for the poor. According to OomKoos Paulse of the Suid Bokkeveld,during the fifties when the 'colouredpeople had nothing', the tea sustainedthem when they could not afford to buy
coffee, and he remembers his mother
sending him out into the veld to harvestveld tea.
Members of rural communities in theSuid Bokkeveld of the Northern Capeorganised themselves into a small-scaleproducer co-operative during 2000.
Before 2002 when the Heiveld Cooperative launched wild rooibos on themarket as a unique niche product, veld
tea had no unique value in the trade oramongst consumers. Four years later,what used to be the rural 'poor man'scup of tea' is now a choice health beverage internationally, having found particular favour in the European market.
What is rooibos?Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) is a fyn
bos plant species endemic to the CapeFloristic Region. In its wild state itsnatural distribution is only along the
western and southern coastal interiorof South Africa. It is one of 278 species
in the genus Aspalathus. The cultivatedrooibos on which the national industryis based was selected in the CederbergMountains and propagated from seed.
All brands of rooibos available in SouthAfrican supermarkets (and even manyin health shops) are produced from cultivated rooibos.
According to local harvesters in theSuid Bokkeveld, wild rooibos is hardier and more resistant to drought,pests and diseases than its cultivatedcounterpart. There are also notabledifferences in the lifespans of wild andcultivated rooibos - the wild bush canlive up to between fifteen and fiftyyears while the cultivated plants onlylive for about six to twelve years. Since2003, prolonged dry spells in the SuidBokkeveld region have caused declinesin the productivity of rooibos plantations, and cultivated plants are nowploughed up after four to six years.
Threats to wild rooibosAs local and international markets forRooibos continue to grow, more land isconverted to plantations for cultivatedrooibos. Over-grazing and alien plantinvasion are also problems in certainareas where natural populations occur.
Climate change is a growing threat.Although drought is characteristicof the area, the 2003-2006 droughtwas the most severe in living memory.Changes in the weather appear to beconforming to the climatic predictionsfor the area: declining average annualrainfall, higher average temperaturesand changes in rainfall patterns, all ofwhich impact on the plants' natural lifecycles.
The uncontrolled harvesting of wildrooibos is also a major threat in someareas. Growing market demand for rooibos has encouraged some producersand harvesters to over-exploit the wildtea. Unsustainable harvesting practices include cutting too much off eachbush, and cutting individual bushes toooften. In this economically marginalizedregion where the main source of incomeis gained from seasonal labour, there issignificant economic pressure to overharvest rooibos from the wild.
Research can helpIn response to these threats, a proactive organisation of small-scale rooibosproducers and harvesters in the SuidBokkeveld region, the Heiveld Co-operative, asked for research to be done intothe sustainable harvesting of wild rooibos. The farmers and harvesters wanted to examine their local practices toascertain the best way to achieve sustainable production. In collaborationwith a local NGO, the Environmental
Monitoring Ground (EMG), the HeiveldCo-op approached the Leslie HillInstitute for Plant Conservation atthe University of Cape Town's BotanyDepartment. Initial funding for theresearch was secured from the SouthAfrican Netherlands Programme forAlternatives in Development (SANPAD)and subsequently from the TableMountain Fund (WWF). MSc. studentRhoda Louw carried out research onthe sustainable harvesting of wild rooibos tea in the Suid Bokkeveld regionwith support from local NGOs EMG andINDIGO development & change.
RIGHT: Daniel Fortuin harvesting cultivated rooibosin the Suid Bokkeveld. Photo: Timm Hoffman.
BELOW: Local rooibos harvester Klaas Paulse.
TOP: Fellow researchers. Small-scale rooibosproducer Koos Koopman from Heiveld Co-operative (left) and author, M.Sc. (Botany) studentRhoda Louw (right) did research into sustainableharvesting practices for wild rooibos in the SuidBokkeveld, Northern Cape.
BOTTOM: Heiveld Co-operative member KoosPaulse shows how wild rooibos was traditionallyplucked by hand for household use. Photo: TimmHoffman.
BELOW: A handful of the real stuff: wild rooibosafter cutting. Photo: Timm Hoffman.
ABOVE: Hendrik Hesselman with grandson Angeloharvesting wild rooibos with asickle on afarm in the Suid Bokkeveld. Photo: Bettina Koelle.
THETABLE MOUNTAINFUND
~WWF
approach proved most successful andsteps were taken to conserve the rooibos by the producers and their organisation. Participation in the research
also helped local harvesters to manage and market their product moreeffectively.
Certification and commercialsuccessThe key to the commercial success of
the Heiveld Co-operative's marketingof wild rooibos has been the organisation's commitment to sustainablefarming practices and social justice.The product is certified organic andbiodiversity friendly by Naturland, a
private international standard. Nothingartificial is used, and the harvest areasare maintained in pristine state. Unlike
cultivated organic rooibos, wild rooibosis not just healthy for the consumer:
it is good for the environment as well.The Heiveld Co-op has reached a niche
market of consumers who are willingto pay more for quality food from ahealthy environment, and now supplieswild rooibos to a range of shops andsupermarkets in Britain and France. In
South Africa, Heiveld Wild is becomingincreasingly popular.
The Heiveld's products are alsocertified by the Fairtrade LabellingOrganisation, indicating that the product has been harvested and produced
in a socially just way. This means thatall who participate in the productionof a fairly traded product are ethicallytreated and can earn a fair income.By ensuring higher producer prices
for high quality rooibos the HeiveldCo-operative enables its members toimprove their livelihood conditions and
at the same time promotes sound management practices of wild rooibos andits natural habitat.
Educating consumers to choose products that are produced sustainablyis a daunting task, but the Heiveld'sexperience shows that it is possible topersuade consumers to support environmental conservation and sustain
able development.~
AcknowledgementsThanks to the Table Mountain Fund (TMF, WWFSA) and South African Programme for Alternativesin Development (SANPAD) for financial support.Many people helped in this project including KoosKoopman, Koos Paulse, Timm Hoffman, NoelOettle and Bettina Koelle.
Rhoda's conclusions were based onthe rich knowledge of local harvesters as well as from the scientific field
observations and experiments on rooibos farms in the Suid Bokkeveld. Mr.Koos Koopman and Mr. Koos Paulsewere key participants in the research,and offered their time, knowledge and
advice during monthly fieldtrips. In theprocess, Rhoda and the local harvesters were able to learn from each other,
and the final results were a collaborative effort. Their field research indicatedthat re-growth and reproduction of wild
rooibos tea are affected by how low tothe ground the plants are harvested, inwhich season they are harvested andthe plants' natural life cycles. Their
recommendations for sustainable harvesting of wild rooibos in the SuidBokkeveld region include:
• Harvesting once every two years innormal years, and less frequentlyduring years of drought.
• Harvesting wild rooibos during summer, as winter harvesting may causethe plants to produce less seed anddeplete the plants' undergroundnutrient reserves. Plants harvestedin autumn were most affected by
pests.
• Harvesting 60-70% of the bush,or less during periods of droughtstress or where plants grow in anarid area.
The results were shared with farm
ers and local harvesters at meetingsand other community gatherings.Participating farmers were often askedto present their findings at these occa
sions and at relevant conferences too.The 'participatory action research'
"Unlike cultivated organic
rooibos, wild rooibos is
not just healthy for the
consumer: it is good for
the environment as well."
BELOW: Wild rooibos (foreground) in the SuidBokkeveld has a darker colour than cultivated rooibos (background). It is common practice in theHeiveld to plough around existing wild plants whenre-planting cultivated rooibos in plantations.Photo: Rhoda Louw.