Remedies to the climate crisis may be all around us. Take the humble spekboom. Knowledge of the plant has flourished, encouraging environmentally-conscious people to grow as much as they can. Carel Nel is elevating this to the next level. “The world is at breaking point,” he says, “and everybody must look after their part of the planet.” His goal – to plant one million spekboom plants by 2025.
When Nel bought a vineyard 20 years ago, he found a patch that was already growing this species. Today, he’s mass propagating the succulent, which is indigenous to South Africa. It sucks up carbon dioxide and releases oxygen in its place, converting four to 10 tonnes per hectare. And that’s not all. Spekboom requires very little water to thrive, making it environmentally-sustainable. To raise awareness and allow more people to cultivate the plant, Nel gives customers of Boplaas Family Vineyards a spekboom cutting with every order. “If you want to do good, you don’t have to make money out of it,” Nel says.
However, we must be mindful of our actions even when trying to help the planet. Spekboom can become invasive when planted in the wrong places, endangering flora such as the Cape Flats Sand Fynbos. But in controlled gardens, it will prosper and protect the earth. “There cannot be farming without conservation,” Nel says. Climate change may be a global issue, but we have the power to make an impact in our own homes.
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