LIVING Lands is set to plant mountain tea seeds (Cyclopia intermedia) at five different test sites in the Langkloof – all in a bid to increase the growth of this species.
The non-profit organisation will collect the specific seeds from the wild, the most heavily wild-harvested of the 23 honeybush species, and plant them at five test sites in the Tsitsikamma and Kouga Mountains where wild honeybush grows naturally. This endeavour started in early 2020 in order to augment the resident wild population.
“’We will monitor them over three years to see if this species augmentation experiment was successful,’ says Project Manager Liz Metcalfe who is leading the Langkloof team of five for Living Lands in partnership with the WWF Nedbank Green Trust.”
According to Liz, the focus of the WWF Nedbank Green Trust project is to improve veld management of the land owned by Langkloof farmers.
“Unlike rooibos, honeybush is difficult to cultivate and of the approximately 390 tons of honeybush tea produced in the Langkloof every year, 80% is harvested from the wild,” she says.
“Illegal harvesting and over-harvesting reduce the inter-harvest period and ultimately lead to population decline.
“These unique wild areas could be managed much better, while providing a product that creates income for the farmers and the harvesters who collect the honeybush in incredibly rugged terrain – many of whom have been harvesting for generations. The harvesters are helping us to put together the resource assessments and they have plans to remove invasive alien species.
“Our dream is to show how valuable these wild areas are, to boost water and biodiversity conservation, as well as the livelihoods of the farmers and harvesters through this beautiful product.”
There are three honeybush tea processors in the Langkloof area, as well as three on the perimeter. From here, the honeybush gets sent to the markets.
WWF’s Land Programme Manager, Jan Coetzee, says, “We value Living Lands’ way of working as they have spent three years gaining an understanding of the landscape and the socio-economic and ecological aspects of the local honeybush tea industry.
“Conservation depends on strong partnerships with landowners and we are highly appreciative that Nedbank, through the WWF Nedbank Green Trust, sees the value in funding this kind of catalytic project.
“By focusing on honeybush and its landscape, the project team aims to increase awareness and conservation efforts in the Tsitsikamma and Kouga mountains which are being increasingly invaded by alien trees.”
-The project is supported by the Honeybush Community of Practice and is working closely with academic researchers who specialise in honeybush, including Gillian McGregor (Rhodes University), Annelise Schutte-Vlok (CapeNature) and Dr Shirley Pierce Cowling. The last led a one-year research project funded by the WWF Nedbank Green Trust on honeybush and the associated harvesting and cultivation issues in the Eastern Cape. She completed the project at the end of 2015.
