'Alternative foods' and community-based development : Rooibos tea production in South Africa's West Coast mountains
- Authors: Nel, Etienne L , Binns, Tony , Bek, David
- Date: 2007
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6718 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006791
- Description: Rooibos tee (red bush tea) (Aspalathus linearis, Fabaceae), which is indigenous only to the Cedarberg and neighbouring mountains of South Africa, has become popular internationally as a result of its apparent health-giving properties. Situated within the broader contexts of alternative food networks, alternate economic spaces and local/community-based development, this paper examines how two marginalised communities have successfully penetrated international markets by supplying organically produced rooibos tea which is certified by the international Fairtrade system. Focusing on the cases of Wupperthal and Heiveld, the paper explores the dynamics of the production and marketing process and the key variables involved. Success has been achieved through active NGO support, which has engaged with local skills and social capital, and has led to significant social and economic upliftment among the participating communities. The experience illustrates how, given the right conditions, poor communities in the South might participate successfully in global alternative food networks.
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Rural self-reliance strategies in South Africa : community initiatives and external support in the former black homelands
- Authors: Nel, Etienne L , Binns, Tony
- Date: 2000
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6716 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006789
- Description: This paper examines the relevance of the concept of self-reliance in the context of rural community economic development in South Africa. Whilst changing global and local circumstances oblige impoverished communities to become more pro-active in the enhancement of the quality of their lives, they nevertheless cannot ignore basic market forces and the need for an appropriate level of external assistance. Four community-based agricultural ventures in South Africa's former Homelands are examined. A comparison between the four schemes permits an assessment to be made of what such community ventures require if they are to succeed and have a meaningful impact on job creation and poverty alleviation. The role of external support agencies and access to markets in each case features prominently in the assessment.
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