A Bioregional Economy to Feed Neighbours
It is not only the birthplace of the former liberation struggle icons like former President Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. But also, other lesser-known legends, like the Dohne Merino sheep and the famous Boer goat. Back in 1938, researchers at the Dohne Research Facility in Stutterheim crossed a Peppin-type Merino with the German Mutton Merino to produce a proudly Eastern Cape original: the Dohne Merino sheep, a dual-purpose breed for premium quality red meat and fine wool. The Boer goat was developed by Dutch farmers in the Eastern Cape in the early 1900s. It is a meat goat breed that was developed from a mix of indigenous African and introduced European goats. Nowadays, the Boer goat is a trusted source of premium chevon, worldwide. This brief history makes the Eastern Cape the Boer Goat Nation of the world When I visited the Chris Hani District Municipality, where Cacadu is located, in November 2023, I was very impressed by the natural beauty of the bioregion. I thought that there was so much to love about the regional Montana-like landscape. Endless skies teeming with all kinds of beautiful birds. Native landscapes where livestock roamed stress-free. to the landscape. Soaring mountains like Nonesi, Lukhanji and the Drakensberg at a distance. Living waters that run along the Qhugqwarhu River into a large manmade reservoir called the Xonxa Dam, which provides supplementary drinking water to the town of Komani. History that dates back to the pre-colonial times when sorghum and millet were local staple foods. Rich communal cultures that beat in the hearts of the local amaQwathi and amaCwerha people. A diverse heritage of amaXhosa people and the European settlers upon which the future agricultural economy of the bioregion was firmly grounded. But something was also amiss, and I didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to spot it. Everywhere I went, I noticed that communal land-based agriculture, which once characterized the bioregion, had come to a complete halt. Whilst agriculture in the region’s commercial farms was moving forward, the farmland in the villages of Cacadu is mostly lying fallow. Rangelands are overgrazed because livestock is no longer herded by humans and it grazes closer to home. Once productive arable land is being eroded because of the general lack of ground cover. The once pristine landscapes have been taken over by the rapid spread of the indigenous Acacia Karoo and the alien Euryops Floribundus (Lapesi to the local people). Poverty was self-evident everywhere that I cared to look.
