Handmade Fynbos Paper

cards In the Cape flower industry, workers are traditionally only hired between August and December, the peak flower season, and then laid off, which leads to economic instability for workers and their families.

We were determined to find some other complementary industry for the off-season, and started experimenting with converting recycled paper and flower discards into beautiful cards and other handmade gift stationary.

This strategy for the development of products that are complementary to the flower bouquets goes hand-in-hand with our aim of empowering rural people to use the resources available to them in a creative, sustainable way.

Flower Valley fynbos paper is handmade from fynbos plant off cuts and recycled paper.
Some of the paper is made from the bark of alien vegetation, cut down to allow the wild fynbos to flourish.
Indigenous flowers and plants are carefully collected, pressed and used to decorate the gifts.
The designs are simple, allowing the uniqueness of each flower, leaf or grass to speak for itself.

Using recycled paper and plant off cuts is a practical example of recycling and re-using, and encourages the Flower Valley community to be creative and conservation conscious.

"The Flower Valley Story' on the back of all our handmade products spreads awareness of the threat to our beautiful and unique Cape Floral Kingdom and how Flower Valley is combating this.

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