The following article was published by The Herald Online

The Ericaville Farming Trust will soon add Belgium to the foreign countries it exports herbal honeybush tea to from Kranshoek outside Plettenberg Bay.

Ericaville Farming Trust manager Sydney le Fleur said yesterday he would be travelling to Belgium later this month to sign export contracts.

The trust also exports its honeybush tea to Italy and Germany.

Bitou municipality‘s acting local economic development manager, Ralph Links, said the honeybush project was one of a number of small, medium and micro enterprise participants in a two- year mentorship programme initiated by the municipality and Voka, the chamber of commerce in Flanders.

“As a direct benefit for their participation in this programme, the Ericaville Farming Trust honeybush tea project in Kranshoek was invited to Belgium to enter into an export contract with the Oxfam Fairtrade in Belgium,” Links said.

According to council documents, the contract will allow Ericaville to export five to 10 tons of honeybush tea to Belgium every year, although Le Fleur said the exact amount still had to be decided.

“We have 15,5ha under plantation and we can produce up to 30 tons a year,” he said.

The mayoral committee last week resolved to sponsor the costs of Le Fleur‘s trip to Belgium, not only for the signing of the agreement but also to showcase and market the product in that country.

The trust, made up of 84 Griqua families, was formed in 1996 and bought about 40ha of land in Kranshoek, west of Plettenberg Bay with a government grant.

In 2001, they planted their first 5ha of the Cyclopia or honeybush plant. The tea, a caffeine-free herbal drink similar to Rooibos, but sweeter, is said to calm the nervous system, boost the immune system and is rich in minerals such as iron and calcium.

Most of the families involved in the trust live in Kranshoek and Kurland Village in The Crags. They come together to harvest the tea, which is sent to Mossel Bay for processing and on to Cape Town for packaging.