Join the new Spekboom Project!

On the 30th of August 2022, I launched an exciting new project! Every customer of Under African Skies gets a spekboom for their own home. Do you know that spekboom is a carbon sponge? According to research, it absorbs the most carbon dioxide of any plant. So it helps to clean the air we all breathe. We can help the world together and make it a better place. So book a tour and learn more about this project, that already gained lots of attention.

As a nature guide, I wanted to thank Mother Nature for providing me with my dream job and the beautiful setting in which I work. I was constantly thinking about how I could give back to Mother Nature. As the years passed, I became more aware of how global warming has impacted the environment in which we live. To give you a simple example, these days the trees in my own garden are blooming earlier than usual. Perhaps you’ve noticed the same thing, or even that birds started their migration later.

Why is this a Special Project?

On April 22, 2022, Earth Day. My sister helped me out by going to the nursery to buy trees to celebrate Earth Day. She’s a succulent plant lover and returned with spekboom. I was actually really happy with her choice as I knew about the numerous benefits of South Africa’s wonder plant. A few days later after doing some breathing exercises, I tried to hold my breath for as long as possible and then a little longer. But obviously, naturally, I eventually took the biggest deepest breath in. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling as I got lightheaded and dizzy. Even though air is essential to mankind we still recklessly pollute the air. And with no remorse. 

Could you imagine your life without air? To me seems that we are heading in a direction where we have to wear huge helmets that provide us with oxygen. And it will not be free oxygen that Mother Nature so kindly provides us with currently. We will have to buy oxygen and find ways to clean the air we breathe because plants will be scarce. Is this the kind of future you want to have?

That day, I carried this feeling with me. I went for a walk in the garden to get some fresh air and to look for new flowers. As I walked, I realized how I could repay Mother Nature for her generosity. I need to plant more spekboom and raise awareness about how this plant can help clean our air.

About this Project: #spekboomunderafricanskies

Because August is Women’s Month, I decided to launch the spekboom project on August 30, 2022, at the uMhlahuze Community Tourism Organization’s Women’s Day event. The concept was well received by the ladies. I definitely have their support for the project.  At the women’s day luncheon, 40 spekboom snippets with healthy soil and a coconut pot were distributed as gifts. All that is required is a small hole to be dug to plant South Africa’s wonder plant. The ladies were asked to pay it forward by giving a shoot of their plant to friends and family once the plant is big enough. What made these snippets even more special for me was that they were taken from my little spekboom “plantation.”

I noticed that everyone I spoke with got excited about the project. That’s why I decided that everyone who will travel with Under African Skies receives a spekboom as well. What a great way to reach even more people, so my first ladies’ group of eight also received a spekboom in a coconut pot.

Why Spekboom

Spekboom is well-known for its ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It absorbs the most carbon dioxide of any plant. According to reports, this wonder plant can remove more than 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year per hectare planted. It also removes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the Amazon rainforest. It contributes to the fight against global warming. It is simple to care for because it only needs to be watered every 2 to 3 days. The spekboom is a hardy plant that can adapt and thrive in any environment. It’s also nutritious because it’s high in vitamin C and can be used in salads and smoothies.

My dream is for this project to become a global movement. I was able to collect 60 spekboom snippets from the gardens of my two sisters. I spent a week preparing the soil. And eventually, with the help of my niece, I planted these 60 shoots on 14 May 2022. From then until now these plants were given love, good soil, and water. They are flourishing, and I can now cut shoots from them to distribute to others. It’s a good start, and together we can make it big.

Would you like to get a spekboom shoot or join the project?

Contact Under African Skies.