Rooibos and indigenous knowledge

Around this time last year, there was a landmark occasion in tea: <a href="https://cantontea.com/products/canton-wild-rooibos-loose/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">rooibos</a> was being added to the EU’s list of products with a protected designation of origin (PDO)– joining gastronomic giants like champagne, parmesan and prosciutto di parma, as well as other world-renowned teas like Darjeeling and Puerh. Like the other products in the PDO category, true rooibos is grown following a traditional process specific to that region of South Africa. The certification was long overdue. Grown in the rocky, sun-baked earth of the Cederberg Mountains in South Africa, rooibos leaves have been harvested and drunk by the Khoi and San indigenous people for centuries. But in recent years, rooibos had been appropriated by large corporations in an attempt to stay on-trend — without credit being given to the local producers and communities who nurtured and protected the indigenous plant. In 2013, for example, a french company attempted to trademark ‘rooibos’ for their skincare products (they implied the tea’s high levels of antioxidants would improve skin health). <a href="https://medium.com/@cantontea/rooibos-and-indigenous-knowledge-584e11e1b840">Visit Now</a>