» Who We Are

Tackling Fynbos conservation on all fronts: environmental, social and economic, bringing the three together to form a strong, positive force on the Agulhas Plain.

On any given day you will find…

•	an array of local flowers and greens being expertly twirled into protea bouquets for export, or
•	young children at the Early Learning Centre marveling over a multi coloured bug - learning why we need the insects to pollinate the wild geraniums, or
•	rows of brightly coloured sheets of handmade fynbos paper drying in the sun.

But where, you may ask, did all this activity begin? Flower Valley is a community conservation success story – the natural flora and the traditional livelihood of the community was rescued at the eleventh hour from under the blade of the developer’s plough.

Flower Valley has been a protea farm and export business for fynbos bouquets for more than a decade. But land throughout the area is at a premium for vine production and when Flower Valley went on the market, viticulture developers were circling.

Concerned conservationists were desperate to ‘save the wild flowers’. So it was with the help of Fauna and Flora International that the land was bought and early in 1999 the Flower Valley Conservation Trust was born – with lofty goals:

• to ensure biodiversity conservation and community development • by promoting the sustainable use of fynbos resources.

So what is Flower Valley up to?

We harvest the wild growing flowers & greens with strict environmental guidelines in mind, to ensure that we are not over harvesting any one plant or picking threatened species.

In the Cape flower industry, workers are traditionally only hired between August and December, the peak flower season, and then laid off, which leads to economic instability for workers and their families.

We were determined to find some other complementary industry for the off-season, and hit on turning recycled paper and flower discards into beautiful cards and other handmade gift stationary.

• Flower Valley fynbos paper is handmade from fynbos plant off cuts and recycled paper. • Some of the paper is made from the bark of alien vegetation, cut down to allow the wild fynbos to flourish. • Indigenous flowers and plants are carefully collected, pressed and used to decorate the gifts. • The designs are simple, allowing the uniqeness of each flower, leaf or grass to speak for itself.

Using recycled paper and plant off cuts encourages the local communities to be creative and conservation conscious.

The Flower Valley story on the back of all our handmade products spreads awareness of the threat to our beautiful and unique Cape Floral Kingdom.

Well what do the local community think of all this?

Due to the holistic nature of our mission, each person’s contribution and role in the community is recognised as equally important. From the flower pickers to the paper makers, the teachers to the project managers, each person plays a unique role in fulfilling the vision of integrating business, conservation and community development. The Community Forum consists of elected representatives from every component of the project. Through this forum issues are identified and addressed, needs are met, and the community plays a role in the decision making process.

Flower Valley has set-up an Early Learning Centre for the children of the rural community. Local women are being trained to run the centre, which already has 20 lively children.

Environmental awareness and practice is integrated throughout the curriculum, recycled materials are used in everyday activities and a multi-cultural atmosphere pervades the playground. We are working with other children’s centres in our area to encourage eco-oriented education and the appreciation of the incredible floral kingdom in which we live.