Remarkable story of rooibos and restitution now on screen

Barend Salamo, chairperson of the Wupperthal co-op called Rooibos Originals that represents local growers, tells the story with a no-nonsense style common to the mountain people. Photo: Denver Breda

Barend Salamo, chairperson of the Wupperthal co-op called Rooibos Originals that represents local growers, tells the story with a no-nonsense style common to the mountain people. Photo: Denver Breda

Published Jan 31, 2019

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Cape Town – The road from the coast to Wupperthal is gently undulating. Getting there is a slow ascent of the Cederberg mountains. No mean feat, but the reward is great. The journey into the heart of this historic hamlet comes with remarkable revelations and vistas.

The people of the Cederberg belt have achieved what few communities globally have managed. They have fought a battle for something entirely intangible recognition of the traditional knowledge associated with rooibos, lifeblood of many of the hamlets.

Drinking rooibos, bathing in it, washing your hair and sometimes even eating the little red sticks (“stokkies tee”, like my grandmother used to say), is something we’ve taken for granted.

As a kid I was embarrassed that it was all we had in the tea tins. I longed for the sophistication of the more expensive “Ceylon”.

Now it turns out my grandmother was taking care of our health and preserving a heritage that has earned the Khoi and San people global recognition. The story of this recognition starts here in Wupperthal.

The Natural Justice NGO and the funders who have supported the people of the Cederberg - mainly the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Southern Africa - commissioned me to direct and produce a film telling this story.

As we were recently planning the release of the film, the village was devastated by fire during the 2018 festive season. As a result, Natural Justice and their partners are now using the premiere of the film (tonight in the Baxter Concert Hall) to raise funds for Wupperthal disaster relief.

In places, the road to the village is scary. Tumbling down the mountainside is a very real threat. The tale of how the Khoi and San growers here are making history with the rooibos plant has many twists and turns, just like the uphill road from Clanwilliam.

Barend Salamo, chairperson of the Wupperthal co-op called Rooibos Originals that represents local growers, tells the story with a no-nonsense style common to the mountain people.

“Our mother did not always have enough breast milk and she gave her children rooibos tea as a substitute. Rooibos tea runs in my veins.”

The work of Barend, the other rooibos growers in the Cederberg and their funders and stakeholders has been made easier by international protocols.

First, there’s the Convention on Biodiversity, a framework that ensures fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from industries like rooibos.

Then there’s the Nagoya Protocol that governs how access to rooibos and benefit sharing should be implemented at a national level.

The South African government supplemented these regulations with a special investigation, dubbed the TK (Traditional Knowledge) Report. The report states:

“There is no evidence that disputes that the Khoi and San are holders of traditional knowledge The traditional knowledge for rooibos and honeybush rests with the communities who originate in these areas.”

Armed with this level of support, the people of the Cederberg approached the commercial rooibos industry. It has taken many years, much heartache and tough negotiations. Now an ABS agreement (access and benefit sharing) deal is about to be signed.

This means that in order to exploit rooibos commercially, benefits will have to be paid to South Africa’s Khoi and San communities.

Lesle Jansen is an environmental lawyer with Natural Justice. She and her organisation are key movers in this landmark fight for recognition and benefits.

Jansen says: “It’s about benefits, but its more about dignity. Its giving back, and its some form of healing and restitution to get that acknowledgement.”

If you find the mountain passes from Clanwilliam to Wupperthal fraught with danger, the winding animal path to nearby Kleinvlei will truly test your faith.

Amelia Koopman, who chairs the local rooibos co-op in this village, says as children they walked barefoot over the mountains to get to school. She says the government research and the final recognition of their traditional knowledge has far-reaching implications. “Even if I don’t get monetary value, I am enjoying the wealth of my ancestors we have the pride of knowing this comes from us.”

There is something quite uncanny about how closely the characteristics of the rooibos plant mirror the ways of the people of the Cederberg mountains. Many foreigners have tried, but this variety of fynbos simply refuses to grow anywhere else. In adverse conditions, like mountain fires, the plant thrives.

The people of the Cederberg have achieved something never before done in South Africa. They have staked their claim and won legal ownership of something entirely intangible. The traditional knowledge of our ancestors.

There are few places in the world where such a claim has succeeded.

And they have fought for a share of every rand earned by the big rooibos companies who have misappropriated Khoi and San traditional knowledge in the past.

This could well be one of the most important steps to redress historic injustice. And it’s all because of a finicky fynbos bush.

When we drove down the mountain at the end of the final day of shooting the Rooibos Restitution film, we were excited about the prospects for the future of Wupperthal.

The fire in December left us heartbroken. But like the rooibos plant after the seasonal mountain fires, the people have rallied. They are using the tragedy not only to rebuild Wupperthal, but to launch a land claim that will turn their fortunes around.

After all they have achieved, they still do not own the land on which they grow the rooibos. But that is a story for another day and requires another slow ascent of the breathtaking Cederberg mountains.

The film Rooibos Restitution that tells the story of the historic struggle of the people of the Cederberg to win recognition for the traditional knowledge of the Khoi and San will premiere at The Baxter Theatre tonight at 8pm. 

The screening is a fund-raiser for Wupperthal disaster relief and is being co-ordinated by the Natural Justice NGO. Webtickets or at the door.

This article first appeared in The Journalist

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