Fynbos Suppliers
The harvesting of fynbos from the wild has been a major provider of employment on the Agulhas Plain, where flower harvesting has been a traditional livelihood for decades.
Working with CapeNature, the provincial body which issues operators with a licence to pick and sell fynbos, the Flower Valley Conservation Trust has helped to put more efficient systems in place. These include the centralised mapping of data on harvested wild flora and speeding up the process of issuing licences. A Code of Practice for flower harvesting was also developed in collaboration with CapeNature, and tested with a number of suppliers.
Monthly meetings of the Trust’s Accredited Supply Forum – now a group of seven suppliers – ensures member participation in product development and marketing, and joint solutions to issues pertaining to training, accreditation and audits. The seven suppliers (on the photograph from left to right) are Leon Schreiber (Vlakberg Farm); Elaine Dunn (Infanta Flora); Christiaan Swarts (Stanford Flora); Lydia van Riet (L&D Flora); Kosie Lourens (Lourens Boerdery); Jann Gafney (Nieuwedam Farms); and the Trust’s Alfred Swarts and Roger Bailey.
Harvesting audits of suppliers are carried out by CapeNature according to the new Code of Practice, while a system of spot checks has been instituted to monitor ongoing compliance with the Code.
Protea producers
In 2008, the Protea Producers of SA (PPSA) agreed to change its constitution to accommodate members who are mainly harvesters of wild fynbos. This is a major step towards organising the industry and enabling it to establish standards of good practice throughout the Cape Floristic Region.
The methods and tools piloted by Flower Valley over the past four years have been made available to the PPSA for testing and modification.
Health and safety
Some 40 workers are employed in the pack shed on Flower Valley farm. Approximately 100 more workers are employed by the circle of accredited suppliers.
Last year, the accredited suppliers and their employees were interviewed by the Trust to assess general health, well-being and access to services. This forms the baseline survey for each party involved in the sustainable harvesting programme and the basis of its social development programme. The methodology is being piloted for the broader Cape Floristic Region programme.
An encouraging trend was the fact that the majority of employees were women, though the literacy rate was worryingly low. Surprisingly the picture for workers on farms was one of greater stability, better health and access to services than in the local towns. Little in the way of recreation, sport and cultural activities were found. Another problem highlighted was the number of unemployed young school-leavers who lived at home.