Thriving Tourist Initiative Creates Negative Carbon Imprint

Hartbeespoort landowner, Dr Dries Burger, is a man who can see opportunity in anything…whether it’s assisting with the 3 restaurants and a 40 shop country market on his 7.3 hectare smallholding or recycling all the waste created.

Some opportunities generate commercial success: rentals to the uniquely styled Welwitschia Country Market, Upperdeck Restaurant, Pick-a-Pancake and Country Griller Restaurants on the property.

Other opportunities generate something even better, Human Success.

The Welwitschia Country Market initiative of Hartbeespoort husband and wife team, Dries and Jenny Burger is a unique undertaking in it’s own right. With the premise that “small and neat” is good, they have erected forty wooden shops accessed by paved pathways under giant old trees. The rustic styled village offers shopping, eating and entertainment options for the weekly influx of visiting tourists – numbering 9 000 to 14 000 a month.

What gives this story such impact is that almost all of the waste generated by this mass human strain on the environment – is recycled, re-used and actually has a negative carbon imprint on the environment!.

The  majority of waste generated by this mass human strain on the environment – is recycled, re-used and actually has a negative carbon imprint on the environment.

The thousands of holiday visitors to Welwitschia Country Market, the Upperdeck Restaurant, Country Griller Restaurant and Pick-a-Pancake eatery generate mountains of waste material. These ventures together provide direct employment for over 160 people.

In 2013 Dries Burger recorded and re-cycled:

Glass: 14 300 Kilograms
Plastic (HDPE & LDPE): 1 860 kilograms
Tins: 1 320 kilograms
Packaging Plastic: 940 kilograms
Cardboard Boxes: 2 780 kilograms.

The income generation of these tons of collected materials? Just R 9 900.

Welwitschia staff sort everything on the estate to be re-used or recycled.

So why does Dries Burger collect, sort and recycle these materials for such a small financial reward?

“It’s the right thing to do” says this doctor of finance.

Recycling re-usable waste materials is just a small portion of the environmentally conscious landowner’s work. The busy entrepreneur has initiated a series of pro-active protocols to conserve and preserve water, maximize resources on the farm and produce organic vegetables too.

Water Conservation

Water for the toilets and cleaning is supplied from a canal, fed directly from Hartbeespoort Dam. All waste water, run-off water and rainwater is collected in 250 000 litre dam.

A water purifying system, consisting of UV light and an Ozone applicator, processes the stored water which is later sprayed over the grazing fields and crops. Although the system cost was in excess of R80 000 and has monthly operational costs in the region of R2 000, Dries Burger believes water conservation is vital for our future. This way water is used twice and the smallholding has the capability of storing water for later use.

This way water is used twice and conserved for future use.”

Produce Trees

Numerous fruit bearing trees have been planted on the estate, providing fresh fruit produce for the farm as well as generating income to support the farm. Recycled water, his own compost and vermiculture is used to water and feed the 15 Pecan Nut trees, 70 Macadamia Nut trees as well as Avocado, Orange, Naartjie, Mango and Lemon Trees

Meat Producing Cattle and Compost

Dries also keeps a herd of 30 Dexters. He has recently bought an Angus bull to cover the Dexter cows producing a cross-breed known as ‘Dangus‘ – an excellent meat producing breed. The dung produced by the herd is used, along with wood chippings, egg cartons and dirty cardboard boxes to make compost. The compost is sifted through a machine designed by Dries, separating the compost from un-composted material. Compost is put on a trailer for distribution, the un-composted material is returned the compost pile for further decomposition. This compost (50 – 60 tonnes a year) is spread over the land to feed the plants and crops on the farm.

The cattle produce dung for the compost heap and are also excellent meat producers.”

Dries breeds meat producing cattle and uses their dung to make compost and vermi-compost.

Vermiculture

Dries currently has 43 half-drums (vermiculture bins), which house around 300 000 red wrigglers. The vermi-compost and vermi-tea will be used to grow organic heirloom vegetables, in a 144 square metre vegetable garden.

Here EVERYTHING possible is sorted, recycled and re-used. Even the bones from the restaurants are first offered to the dogs and then left to the Hadedas, Egrets and Guinea Fowls to pick them completely clean.

This is truly an example of how business and nature can work hand-in-hand, guided by the insights of a remarkable man.

Hartbeespoort can be proud of Welwitschia Country Market, Upperdeck Restaurant, Lemon & Limes Restaurant Griller & Pick-a-Pancake, safe in the knowledge that patronizing these establishments cause little to no carbon footprint on our fragile eco-system.

Dries will gladly offer advise to establishments looking to improve their re-cycling efforts. Please contact him on dries.burger@me.com