- Title
- 'Alternative foods' and community-based development : Rooibos tea production in South Africa's West Coast mountains
- Creator
- Nel, Etienne L, Binns, Tony, Bek, David
- Date
- 2007
- Type
- Article
- Identifier
- vital:6718
- Identifier
- 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.
- Format
- 18 pages, pdf
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Nel, E.L. and Binns, T. and Bek, D. (2007) ‘Alternative foods’ and community-based development: Rooibos tea production in South Africa's West Coast Mountains. Applied Geography, 27 (2). pp. 112-129. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2006.11.001
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Nel, Etienne L (Prof)
RU Department of Geography
SDG 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 02. Zero Hunger
SDG 01. No Poverty
SDG 17. Partnerships for the Goals
SDG 15. Life On Land
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