Atlantic States made its first foray into Africa with an introductory visit to the Western Cape Province of South Africa.  Our initial invitation was to participate in the joint program of Syracuse University and Stellenbosch University.  However, once there we were welcomed by a variety of people asking us to get involved with a variety of issues.  The friendly people, combined with great environmental awareness, leads us to believe that useful long term collaboration is possible.

Highlights of our visit were getting to know and work with Doreen Februarie who founded and runs the NOSIPHO Consultant that does human resource management and training.  One of Nosipho’s many projects includes working with roughly 150 youth in nine communities in the Province to train them for green jobs.  See their website www.nosipho.co.za  for more information.

Youth Group

Another major relationship developed between ASLF and several of the wineries in the area – one of the main wine producing areas of the world.  Many of these wineries own large tracts of land in the very unique and threatened botanical community called the fynbos.  These wineries are working hard to protect and enhance these lands, provide access to them for flower tours, bird watching and other outdoor activities while expanding their potential revenue sources beyond just selling wine.  They have formed the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (www.bwi.co.za) and are pleased to be working with us, given our experience working on similar issues around the world.