As South Africa gears up to host the 17th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17) in Durban at the end of November 2011, kulula.com and national greening enterprise Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) are working harder than ever to green areas in and around Durban.
kulula fans raised a whopping R1 million to support FTFA’s efforts to respond to climate change and improve environments, especially for the poor. This was achieved through kulula’s Project Green Programme, which aims to combat the atmospheric carbon loads and greenhouse gases released by its aircraft.
By February 2009 Project Green had planted 2009 trees. Now, thanks to the thousands of kulula fans who contributed money every time they flew, thousands more trees and hectares of bamboo will be planted for disadvantaged communities throughout South Africa this year.
“We want to say thank you to all our fans who opened their hearts and pockets to support this worthy cause,” says kulula Marketing Manager, Nadine Damen.
With kulula’s help, 1000 fruit and indigenous shade trees were planted in Mount Moriah and Mount Royal on 13 and 14 May 2011, a low-cost housing settlement situated on a hilly mountain between Duffs Road, Phoenix and Mount Edgecomb, about 15km from Durban city centre. The construction of this settlement started in around 2005 and to date over 3000 housing units have been constructed and occupied.
The social dynamics of this area are very unique; an Indian community and Zulu community coexist harmoniously. Residents live below the poverty line; the majority are unemployed and rely on the Municipality or contractual work at the nearby factories.
The good news is that this settlement has been established on previous sugarcane fields, where the soil is fertile and there is a vibrant water stream. The area is clean and the community welcomes this initiative from kulula. This community still enjoys natural patches of exotic and indigenous trees that remained after the settlement was established.
As part of an ongoing landscape rehabilitation of Mount Moriah, this contribution of fruit and indigenous shade trees from kulula has formed a centre of attraction through its improved biodiversity and improved nutrition from the fruits that they will harvest.
These 1 000 kulula sponsored trees, to be planted through FTFA’s Trees for Homes Programme, will not only improve the settlement and offset 374.53 tons of carbon dioxide; they will also provide an opportunity for climate change awareness for the residents of the COP17 host city.
Twenty unemployed residents have been trained as Community Educators to educate their neighbours on the benefits of these trees and their effects on climate change. These local educators will monitor the growth of the trees over the next few years so that FTFA can validate the carbon offset.
This extensive kulula tree-planting project, which was launched on 3 February 2011, and has resulted in the planting of 4200 trees for residents of Thembisa in Gauteng, Mount Moriah in KwaZulu Natal, and Langa and Mitchell's Plain in the Western Cape.
