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FEATURE

Tree-preneurs seedlings Project manager Lesley Joemat

Tree-preneurs cups Tree-preneurs incubator Spier Tree-preneur Tree-preneurs Yellowwood seedlings
SPIER’S TREE-PRENEURS

ROOTED IN GROWTH

As a Spier Growing For Good initiative, Tree-preneurs is a project that teaches members
of impoverished communities in the Cape how to care for indigenous plants.

nce the seedlings they’ve been and community impact. She lives by her are planted in disadvantaged areas of
given to nurture are big enough, principles, using water-saving gadgets and Stellenbosch in need of greening, donated
Othey are exchanged for food recycling at home too. to schools, NGOs, churches and used to
vouchers, clothing, bicycles, educational rehabilitate the Plankenbrug River and
support and other essentials. “This project does more than just call for Dwars River.
environmental awareness; it is a vision for
Tree-preneurs is rooted in the ‘waste not, regeneration, encouraging a simple yet The project nourishes environmental
want not’ philosophy. As a rule, it doesn’t compassionate and proactive approach consciousness in the communities where
purchase anything. Instead, it creatively to addressing global issues. The project’s growers live; it also empowers others to
reuses what’s already there. Water is power lies in its ability to inspire hope and make a positive difference. A powerful
collected when it rains, and seedlings are action across impoverished communities, example of this is Tannie Katrina Babs
planted in used items like biodegradable advocating for actions that restore health Visagie, a Tree-preneur from Heather
coffee cups and other recycled containers. and harmony to the world’s ecosystems,” Park who runs a food kitchen, using the
This commitment to upcycling and she explains. vouchers earned from her trees to buy
innovative creation is core to Tree-preneurs. food for orphans in her community. Since
Under her watchful eye and green fingers, she joined the project in 2011, she has
Lesley Joemat has been the dedicated the Tree-preneurs programme has bartered over 9 300 trees, including 1 250
project manager for Tree-preneurs since empowered more than 310 individuals Spekboom plants currently showcased on
2009, teaching individuals not just about from 12 communities, by helping them the verandas at Spier Hotel.
caring for indigenous plants but also barter more than a million indigenous
providing avenues for personal growth trees. Many of the trees and plants www.spier.co.za n

18 Landscape SA • Issue 141 2024 Check us out www.salandscape.co.za