Newsletter
February 2005Those of you who still remember the founder of Honingklip Dryflowers, we are delighted that we could celebrate Walter's 95th Birthday at Honingklip in February this year.
This came short on the heels of another family milestone for Walter: the birth of a great-grandson, Matthew, grandson for Robert and Maryke and son for Nicolaas and Sandra.
This family picture was given to him to commemorate his birthday.
On the right are Riaan, (from Maryke's first marriage) Bernadette and Tyde-Summer. In the centre, Richard and Carolyn with Kaitlyn and on the left, Nick and Sandra with Matthew born on 7th January. So much for family affairs.
The Western Cape has been gripped by drought conditions that have resulted in water rationing for homeowners, and restrictions on irrigation. The problem is aggravated by the influx of people from other poor rural areas beyond our provincial borders, and even from beyond our country borders. We are extremely fortunate that part of our farm (the Nature Reserve, "Ruwami" at the top of our property) forms part of a water catchment area. Mist that comes in from the nearby ocean is often sufficient to keep the plants healthy. Removing alien invasive trees like pines from the reserve and the upper slopes, has lead to better water run-off for our storage dams. So we are fine with a plentiful supply of water to supply our warehouses, packing sheds and our bleaching and dyeing operation.
The Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest of the Floral Kingdoms in the world, but with about 6500 plants that grow in this area stretching along the narrow coastal strip of the southernmost part of South Africa up to Port Elizabeth, has recently been declared a world heritage site. A number of mega-reserves falling in this area have been declared separately, as have a number of Biosphere sites. We are bordering on the Kogelberg Biosphere in the so-called buffer zone where farming or enterprises that are closely aligned with the maintenance of the natural plant life are encouraged. We have to take responsibility to maintain bio-diversity even more than before.
We are serious about good agricultural practices and have recently entered the EurepGAP program as a pilot for the Fynbos Industry. This covers our farming enterprise as well as our processing plant. By the time the next newsletter comes out, we will be the first dried flower operator in the country that has been accredited.
Production wise, the intense heat experienced from December onwards (normally we have a number of hot days in February only) is doing strange things to the growth patterns of a number of products. Red repens and Compacta flowers have started flowering quite early, pan reed will be scarce and therefore very restricted this year and substitute products will hopefully be available in sufficient quantities. The reed products often need a year or two to recover after heavy pruning (harvesting) and if continually harvested will ultimately lead to death of the plant. Reeds are slow growers and a new plant can take up to 6 years before they can be harvested. We must ensure that we continue to harvest in a sustainable way.
The new driers installed last year are working well, using less electricity and working more efficiently. With larger areas dedicated to drying at peak times and the reorganization within the packing areas, we are now considerably more efficient than before and are able to react faster to sudden demand or fashion changes. The big lean-to driers are being divided into smaller compartments resulting in less interruption to the drying process when carrying wet or ready-dried produce in and out.
Click here for a copy of our certificate.
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