South African rooibos tea industry pays out to indigenous people
South Africa’s rooibos tea industry paid R12.2-million to groups representing indigenous people in the country, part of a benefit-sharing agreement to recognize the original cultivators of the plant.
A levy of 1.5% of the farm gate price of the herbal tea will be paid into a trust each year controlled by the Khoi and San people, the South African Rooibos Council said in a statement. The funds will be used to improve the lives of those communities.
The move -- the result of a lengthy discussions going back to an agreement in 2019 -- is the latest example of South African industries and companies acknowledging the rights and contributions of people who lived in the country before Dutch settlers started to arrive in the 17th century.
The Khoi and San people have also been protesting against the planned new Africa headquarters of US e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. in Cape Town, which they say is being built on sacred ground. South Africa’s High Court temporarily halted construction in March pending further engagement with the communities.
Rooibos is farmed mainly in an area between 200 kilometers (125 miles) and 300 kilometers north of Cape Town and thought to have health and beauty benefits. It is exported to 30 countries and provides employment and income to 5 000 people in South Africa, according to the SARC. In 2014, Rooibos tea was granted geographical indication status in the EU, which gave manufacturers in South Africa full ownership of the name.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
At SMS group, we have made it our mission to create a carbon-neutral and sustainable metals industry.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Leading condition monitoring specialists, WearCheck, help boost machinery lifespan and reduce catastrophic component failure through the scientific...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
