Eastern Cape B&B, South Africa
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
At Blue Hill Escape we are committed to conservation and sustainable living. Most of the 2300 hectare property has been set aside as a nature reserve under the Cape Nature / Eastern Cape Parks stewardship program. This means that we have a management plan for the property which includes a commitment to remove alien vegetation, control soil erosion, and protect our local wildlife. Members of the Lee Family Trust (which owns the property) hold the chair for the Baviaans Wes conservancy, a collection of landowners committed to land-use practice that maximizes biodiversity.
One of the first things we did when we moved here in 2009 was purchasing remote-sensing cameras. These were deployed at different points on the property to start a wildlife inventory. Some of the mammals we have here include cape leopard, caracal, wild cat, several types of antelope, aardwolf, aardvark, bushpig, porcupine, dassie and baboon. This project led to an affiliation with the Landmark Foundation who study leopards in the Baviaanskloof area. A young female leopard was caught here in March 2011 and released with a GPS collar around her neck which is great because we can now see where and how far she's moving. We have used some of these photos (and a lot of our own) to create large educational posters showing photos of the Blue Hill Escape mammals, birds, other wildlife, and flowers. These are displayed in the communal lounge of the guest house. Alan Lee, co-owner of Blue Hill Escape, has a PhD in ornithology and is about to start his post-doctoral research on fynbos endemic birds with the South African National Biodiversity Institute. He hopes to find out more about the movements of these birds. Alan has a ringers licence, i.e. he can catch birds and put rings on them. These sessions can be very interesting, and our guests are very welcome to join him.
Something that has always been important to us but is even more important now is the reduction of waste. When the municipality doesn't come to your house to pick up all the rubbish you become very aware of the amount of waste that is created every day. We have to take anything we don't recycle to the Uniondale dump, and that's not a nice sight! So we're big on recycling: paper and cardboard get burnt, organic waste is put on the compost heaps or into the worm farm, plastic, glass and batteries are taken to the recycling points in Oudtshoorn or George. We try not to buy too many things that create waste in the first place – but that's a real challenge as most products are already wrapped in plastic. We grow a lot of our own vegetables, but when we have to buy some we try not to get the pre-packed ones. The plastic trays that vegetables often come in are used at home as seed trays.We take our own shopping bags into town, and when we do get plastic bags we reuse them at home, for example as rubbish bags in the bins. A Uniondale entrepreneur has just started an art program with the local community which involves using recyclables such as plastic and glass bottles.
Community
Living in the countryside usually means living with a closely-knit community. It's definitely the case here. Mutual support is one of the golden rules of country living. One of the ways in which we support our neighbours is by assisting them in cases of livestock predation. We put them in touch with the Landmark Foundation who remunerate farmers for losses caused by leopard. In return we're able to get vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions directly from our neighbours (when they have surplus that is). Which is great because it's bulk and it's yummy! In May 2011 a farmers market was established in Uniondale, and more and more local people and farmers sell their produce there: vegetables, fruit, bread, fish, meat - fresh and not wrapped in plastic! We are also fortunate to be able to buy farm milk and butter. So all in all we're able to offer our guests a wholesome home-cooked meal with local ingredients which can be somewhat of a challenge in our globalized world.
On our website and in our printed guest information we include the activities "Visit a working farm" and "Visit a cave with bushman paintings". Both activities take place on other properties and are in cooperation with the local people there. We recommend local restaurants and craft shops in Uniondale, Willowmore and the Baviaanskloof. Willowmore has a very active community which has produced a number of interesting projects that we recommend to our guests. They have created a brochure called "Baviaanskloof Beautiful People" which lists all the local guides, restaurants and crafts projects with contact details. We display this brochure as well as some of their art for sale in our guesthouse. A Uniondale entrepreneur has just started an arts project with the community using only recyclables such as plastic and glass bottles, and wire. We give them some of our recyclable waste and display their art for sale at Blue Hill Escape. It's a great deal that benefits all. One of the communities in the Baviaanskloof, called Sewefontein, is now opening its doors to the public. One of their attractions is a boardwalk in a wild fig forest. It's a great day trip from Blue Hill Escape, and one of the activities we offer guests who want to visit the Baviaanskloof and combine an environmental with a cultural experience.
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