A wine farm in the Karoo say they will have planted 1-million spekboom plants by 2025 in an effort to fight climate change.
Carel Nel, the owner and cellar master at Boplaas Family Vineyards, is passionate about conservation. He bought and rehabilitated a piece of land around 20 years ago, in which the spekboom naturally grew.
In recent years, however, he decided to plant more of them. The spekboom thrives with very little water and is extremely effective in converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. The area has been severely affected by a drought in recent years, with climate change as the biggest cause. This is Nel’s way of fighting it.
“The world is at breaking point and we must do everything we can to avoid a climate catastrophy,” Rozanne Nel, marketing manager and Carel’s daughter, told Landbou Weekblad.
They give a free spekboom cutting with each order placed at the farm for people to plant at home. Their vision for the future is to give away free spekboom cuttings in all their tasting rooms.
The spekboom is a succulent that has been described by many as a “wonderplant” due to its large volumes of carbon deposits. In fact, it is the most effective carbon depositor on earth (for the amount of water it uses).
Picture: Facebook/Boplaas Family Vineyards