The Heiveld farmers are geographically isolated being scattered across a high plateau situated on the South Bokkeveld plateau which lies to the east of the Cedarberg and to the south of the small settlement of Nieuwoudtville (where the co-operative has its offices). The region also lies on the provincial border between Northern and Western Cape provinces, which enhances its political marginalisation. Furthermore, the resident population, almost all of whom are either descended from the original Khoisan inhabitants, or are of mixed race, were discriminated against and marginalised by South Africa's apartheid system.

Some 600 people live in scattered farmsteads in the South Bokkeveld area. Land is owned and worked in different ways, by individual owners and by share croppers and farm workers. Rooibos has always been grown in the area, but production was small scale and undertaken by individual farmers. Unlike Wupperthal, where activities focus on the village, the scattered nature of the Heiveld community, has been a barrier to progress. External intervention has been important in identifying development options through a participatory process, building social capital and establishing a co-operative to take the process forward.

An NGO, the Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG), played a key role in the foundation of Heiveld co-operative, and worked closely with the community to identify the potential for rooibos production. EMG's work in the area began in 1999, following a request from the Northern Cape provincial government to initiate a bottom-up development process.

Following initial meetings with Heiveld inhabitants, EMG undertook a ‘knowledge exchange’, which involved taking community members to visit community projects elsewhere in the region. Visits were organised to various community projects, including the Wupperthal tea project in 2000. The success of the latter clearly inspired Heiveld members, who saw the potential for generating economic returns from the detailed indigenous knowledge base that they possessed. Community members recognised that although they had farming skills, they did not have the necessary management and organisational skills to establish a cooperative. EMG worked with the community to strengthen these skills through a participatory, active learning process, which was strongly driven by the principle of sustainable development. This attracted World Bank interest and led to the drafting of two manuals on ‘community knowledge exchange’. A key element in this process was capturing and documenting local knowledge on rooibos tea production in a booklet entitled ‘Die Juweel van die Berg’ (The Jewel of the Mountain). The booklet served the dual purpose of recording local knowledge and providing a practical resource for farmers.

The project was formalised in 2001 as a co-operative with 14 members (rising to 26 in 2003), and has its headquarters in the village of Nieuwoudtville. The co-operative's stated mission is, ‘to produce and market the finest organic rooibos tea at fair prices on behalf of our members, and thereby create a better life for small-scale farmers and other less privileged members of the community’. The co-operative's constitution guarantees that 30% of the profits should be utilised for community development projects.

Rooibos production takes place on scattered farms, while wild tea is collected from high ground over an area extending 50 kms south of the village. Wild tea is sometimes marketed separately as a niche product. The tea is processed at a private tea court in the area, which is hired from the owners. The board of the co-operative manages the project, and EMG now only plays a limited supporting role as the project matures.

An international market for the rooibos production was secured from the inception of the project, when a Dutch-based Fairtrade organisation approached EMG and offered to buy the co-operative's products. In 2001, the first year of operation, 30 tonnes were produced, of which 6 tonnes were sold to the Fairtrade organisation, and 24 tonnes to the Clanwilliam factory. Two years later (2003), 30 tonnes were exported to Europe.

In addition to the benefits of collaborating with an international Fairtrade organisation, the fact that the community also produces the tea organically has helped to secure a defined market share. In 2000, all of the farmers were registered as organic producers in accordance with EU standards. During 2004, Heiveld rooibos was awarded the Fairtrade mark, and was subsequently marketed in the UK by the firm Equal Exchange as the first Fairtrade rooibos available in the UK.

Heiveld Cooperative gained profits in 2002 of R 104,000, which increased to R 140,000 in 2003. Earnings per kilo have doubled since 2000. During 2005/6, 42 farmer members produced 36 tonnes of organic rooibos achieving a financial turnover of R 1.5 million. Of the profits 70% was distributed among participating farmers, in proportion to their contribution to the project, while the remaining 30% was distributed among disadvantaged members of the community. By 2005, the community had invested R 100,000 from its profits into a tea processing facility with a further R 120,000 projected for investment during 2005.

Information sourced from ‘Alternative foods’ and community-based development: Rooibos tea production in South Africa's West Coast Mountains. Written by Etienne Nela, Tony Binnsb and David Bekb. Download full document here