Wild honeybush harvesting field guide

Foreword

Sustainable agriculture uses best practice to produce high quality products in a way that is environmentally sustainable and also has socio-economic benefits for communities. The development of the Best Practice Guidelines for the Sustainable Harvesting of Wild Honeybush contained in this publication can contribute to the national goal of using our natural
resources sustainably so that future generations can benefit. The Guidelines also speak to the Western Cape Government’s Provincial Strategic Goal “Create opportunities for growth and jobs.” and Provincial Strategic Goal 4 “Enable a resilient, sustainable, quality and inclusive living environment.” I am very pleased for my Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning to support the request by the Honeybush Community of Practice (HCOP) for this Field Guide (based on an earlier Guidelines Report), aimed at protecting and sustaining this unique wild resource growing in the mountains of the Eastern and Western Cape Provinces. We hope that this formal record of the knowledge and experience of the many successful farmers and harvesters, who do manage their resource wisely, will inspire all honeybush stakeholders to harvest the resource in a sustainable manner.