Mountain Spirit's Blog

Rooibos Tea farmers on the Front Line of Cimate Change
By Amanda Richards

Rooibos - The Frontline of Climate Change

I was born in South Africa, and we all grew up with Rooibos or, red bush tea. I was saddened to see this recent article covering this important plant being threatened by environmental and man-made factors.

In this article in The Independent newspaper, Virginia Marsh explores how this valuable plant is threatened by climate change – and with it the independent farmers that depend upon it for their livelihoods.

By Virginia Marsh

"Red Bush" or Rooibos Tea

Unusually, the entire global supply of rooibos comes from a single production area in the west of South Africa that measures just 200 x 100 kilometres. Efforts to cultivate it outside of the Suid Bokkeveld have not been successful: it draws on the region’s unique soils and climate and needs to grow alongside other components of its ecosystem.
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Tags: Climate Change, Mountain Spirit, Red bush tea, Rooibos, South Africa, The Independent Newspaper, Virginia Marsh

This entry was posted on 22/12/2009 at 14:11 and is filed under Climate Change, Conservation, Environment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.