Empowering a community through aloe harvesting
The Cape aloe is harvested for a variety of pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes. As one of its poverty-alleviation and empowerment initiatives, CapeNature has assisted a cooperative in the village of Albertinia at the foot of the Langeberg mountains in the Hessequa district with capacity building and funding.
The Albertinia Aloe Tappers Agricultural Cooperative taps aloe through sustainable harvesting practices, producing aloe sap and crystals, with the tappers mostly from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.
The CapeNature initiative aimed to maximise economic benefit from the natural resources found on farms surrounding Albertinia, with the capacity building programme including office management, conflict resolution, first aid, health and safety, marketing and customer care.
Case Studies
Building a business on sour figs
Drawing on her traditional heritage and through hard work, Sarah Niemand has built up her Blinkwater Cooperative business from harvesting the sour figs growing in the coastal dunes in a nearby protected area.