Alien plants in South Africa, especially in dense stands along rivers, use more water than indigenous vegetation. This translates into a 4% reduction in water availability, which could escalate exponentially if these plants were to spread uncontrolled.

Further negative side effects of uncontrolled alien plant growth include the loss of rare species, displacement of indigenous populations, increased fire intensity, soil erosion, interception of catchment runoff and downstream impacts on biodiversity and the functioning of aquatic ecosystems.

To promote the resilience of tributaries in the Upper Breede River as ecological corridors and providers of ecosystem services, critical interventions such as alien clearing and rehabilitation projects are essential. Ecosystem services are recognized as critical to society and of significant economic value. The benefits of restoring natural capital will improve water security, remove toxicants through biofiltration, recharge groundwater and support ecological resilience through buffering floods and services.

Alien clearing and rehabilitation projects of this nature in the Upper Breede River region are essential for the restoration of natural capital.

The alien clearing projects are implemented with Government as well as private funds and the area stretches from Ceres all the way down to Worcester (approximately 76km with 105 landowners). The main focus is the riparian zones of the rivers, however work is done in the mountains as well in selected cases where the landowners have the capacity to hold on to the gains.

The Breedekloof Wine and Tourism project manager is responsible for work planning, quality control, tracking expenditure and explaining the norms and standards to landowners and potential workers, ensuring they understand what is expected from them.

In 2022, management from Botha and Slanghoek Cellars approached the local Health Department’s CWD District Office in Worcester with a need to establish a preventative health service on member farms in their immediate vicinity.

As a result, it was decided to initiate and implement the Botha / Slanghoek Farm Health Project in the catchment area of the 2 cellars.

The farm health project entails the rendering of a basic preventative health service on the member farms.  The health service is coordinated by a professional nurse, and include but not limited to HIV, TB, STI preventative services and sexual reproductive health services, chronic care, and child immunizations.

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Since 2005 when Du Toitskloof Wines became one of the first wineries in South Africa to participate in a social responsibility project under the auspices of Fairtrade, the Du Toitskloof Fairtrade Initiative has seen more than 3000 people directly benefitting from all the various projects annually.

“…the project certainly ranks as one of the largest and highest impact Fairtrade projects in Africa and definitely the largest in wine. The project is a model example of what Fairtrade can achieve.”

— Pieter Cowan Louw, FLO-Cert Legal Representative

For more visit www.dtkfairtrade.org

The Western Cape received unprecedented amounts of rainfall in the 2023 and 2024, leading to flooding in the Breedekloof, and significant damage being caused to the riverbanks and severe deposition of soil and debris in some areas.

The increase of the water in the mainstream increases the velocity and power and this caused large-scale erosion and sedimentation related damages. It highlighted the importance of indigenous vegetation that stabilize the river banks.

The Flood relief project aims to address the damages caused to the Breede River, which include, but are not limited to erosion of riverbanks and sedimentation. Damaged riverbanks are vulnerable and need to be repaired in order to safeguard agricultural land, restore the riparian zone with indigenous plants and promote overall responsible land and water management.

Fairtrade is the most widely recognized ethical label globally and Merwida is one of the largest Fairtrade Wine producers in the World, producing nearly a quarter of the Fairtrade Wines produced in South Africa and earning just over 30% of the total Premiums generated for our workers.

For every litre of Fairtrade wine sold, a Premium of 60 cents is paid directly to the Farm Workers. These Premiums are invested in improving farm practices, education, healthcare, and upliftment programmes that benefit our workers, their families, and the local farm communities.

As proud Fairtrade producers they are committed to following sustainable, environmentally friendly farming practices, adhering to globally accepted labour standards, and ensuring that their products are sold at prices that reflect the costs of sustainable production.

They have built two pre-schools, a community centre, and a clinic, as well as providing healthcare and transport to everyone on the farm.

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The family has since the early days developed the farm in a dynamic yet sustainable manner, emphasising the conservation of the unique wetlands on and around their land.

The vineyards have evolved in equilibrium with preserving the sensitive hydric soils and all other areas of the farm. Merwida Winery, named a Conservation Champion of the World Wildlife Fund in 2006 for more than 600 hectares of marshland preserved on the farm, prides itself on the Papenkuils wetland with its rich vegetation and wildlife.

Extensive cleaning of alien invasive plants has allowed the abundant palmiet and other endemic species to thrive.

The palmiet plays a vital role in stabilising the riverbanks, slowing down floodwaters, and acting as a shelter and a food source for various faunal species that grow along the river. The Papenkuils Conservation area is regarded as one of the freshwater jewels of the Western Cape, as it is the largest and best-preserved wetland adjacent to the Breede River system.

In addition to the WWF recognition, the area is also regarded by the United Nations’ organisation UNESCO as a priority area with high conservation status.

The endangered ‘Broad Alluvium Fynbos,’ preserved in the area, is considered unique and invaluable ecological value. The biome conserves biodiversity and offers a natural corridor between the farmlands and the Breede River.

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Opstal is a family business, but when we say “family”, we don’t mean just the owners and management’s family – it is all our people who are with us in this business. And that is why “Sixpence” is such an important project and label – it is a tribute to all those families that are and were part of Opstal.

The “Sixpence Community Fund” was established for the benefit of the workers and their families who stay on the farm. With third generation workers on the farm we are proud to honour those that have become part of the bigger family and have helped to make Opstal a success.

“Sixpence” was the nickname given to shepherd Daniel Smiles who looked after the flock of sheep that roamed the farm in the 1950’s and 1960’s, when Stanley Louw was a boy. Sixpence’s son, Andries who retired in 2008, worked on the farm all his life and after his retirement in 2008, passed away in 2012. Today we have 3rd
generation workers on the farm with all 30 families permanently residing on the estate.

Over time the farm increased the amount of land under vine and stopped farming sheep. Vineyards were planted on what had been grazing land, and they have been referred to as Sixpence’s Vineyards ever since. The Sixpence wines are made from grapes mostly sourced from these vines.

For more watch these videos:

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The Alien Clearing Project, Flood Relief Project, Reforestation Project and Tree Nursey Project had created jobs in the Breedekloof. However, it was identified that there was skills development needed.

The training needs for the projects fall in three categories. The first is formal course-oriented training such as Health and Safety and First Aid in order to ensure safe work procedures. This kind of training is mostly Government funded.

The second aspect of the training is on-site practical training. The management team has a wealth of knowledge on alien clearing and restoration based on 10+ years of field experience. This is done on an ongoing basis.

The third category focuses on the social and domestic as people live in poor conditions and are subject to domestic abuse, drug abuse and violence. After identifying this problem, 22 people attended the Bright Star training focusing on Life Skills and how to get yourself out of bad conditions and build a healthy future.

The 4-year project aimed to plant 100,000 tree seedlings per year in the riparian zones of the Berg and Breede Rivers. This was a big challenge in the harsh Western Cape conditions, but we managed to successfully reach the target consistently. The project was in partnership with landowners and supplied all the trees, carried the associated cost to harvest seed, grow the trees and plant them. A dedicated project manager monitored the and the landowner needed to provide an upfront fee of R15 000 and any main line and associated connections that may be required to irrigate the site. The landowner needed to ensure that a water connection was available for irrigation of the site.

Due to the invasion of woody alien plants and the subsequent unnatural fire regimes, many of the majestic Indigenous trees and shrubs that first populated the forested banks of the Breede River such as the Breede River Yellow Wood (Podocarpus elongatus), Wild Olive (Olea europaea subsp. africana) and Wild Almond (Brabejum stellatifolium) and Palmiet (Prionium serratum) to name but a few, has mostly disappeared from the system.

The ReforestAction Project grew these plants in Intaba’s nursery in order to reintroduce them to the system. The reintroduction of these indigenous trees provided a level of competition for returning alien plants and it improved the functional diversity of the riparian zone. Without this active intervention, the system would not have been able to reach the level of ecological resilience required to persevere on its own.

There are few places where these trees are cultivated today and without a concerted effort to re-establish them, they will not be able to return to the system. The stewardship aspect of the project is critical as the landowners will be responsible for ensuring the long-term survival of the sites after the project has come to an end. Except for damages to some of the sites from flooding, the majority of the sites are still intact today and hopefully one day our children will be able to sit under the trees we planted and recite the success story to future generations.

 For more visit https://www.reforestaction.com/en/blog/south-africa-reforesting-banks-breede-and-berg-rivers

The Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer, opened the Worcester Field Reserve Restoration and Indigenous Tree Nursery in 2020. The Field Reserve is situated just outside Worcester and is one of the seven research farms of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA).

With the support of the WCDoA Programme Research and Technology Development Services and technical inputs from the Programme Sustainable Resource Use and Management, the new infrastructure was built at the end of 2020 to grow a maximum of 20 000 indigenous trees, of 14 different species.

The seedlings are grown from seed and cuttings which are harvested directly from the various river systems in the area. The nursery directly contributes to the restoration of ecological infrastructure such as wetlands and riparian zones that play a vital role in supporting agriculture.

The primary objective is to provide indigenous trees for landowners at a reduced cost in order to augment the indigenous seed bank of these species.

Furthermore, some of these trees are used for planting along the river banks of the Berg and Breede Rivers, where alien clearing was done by the WCDoA’s Programme Sustainable Resource Use and Management.

The initiative is conducted in cooperation with Breedekloof Wine and Tourism, which involved young men from the “Change Makers” rehabilitation programme in Worcester to build the nursery. New skills were transferred to this group of young men, whilst giving them an opportunity to earn an income. Young people employed by the LandCare Restoration and Greening project are trained and employed to harvest the seed and cuttings, grow the trees and actively participate in the restoration work when replanting takes place.

Speaking at the opening, Minister Meyer said that climate change is one of his five ministerial priorities and that the nursery is one of the WCDoA's interventions to mitigate the impact of climate change. This initiative supports the Western Cape Climate Change Response Framework and Implementation Plan, also referred to as the SmartAgri Plan.

The Plan identifies the clearing of invasive alien plants and restoration of ecological infrastructure as critical actions (priority projects) to ensure water availability and quality. It also helps to regulate stream flow, reduce flooding risk to farms, and prevent soil erosion.

This esteemed event celebrates the invaluable contributions made by agri workers to the sustainability and growth of the agricultural sector in the Western Cape.

The WCPAA features eleven categories in which agri workers compete at the regional level across 15 different regions. Regional winners advance to the provincial level and compete for the prestigious title of Western Cape Agri Worker of the Year.

2024 Breedekloof/Worcester Winner: Sampie Swarts from De Breede Boerdery at Hugoskraal, Breedekloof