Over the past few months, 48 fruit and indigenous trees found new homes across Kalbaskraal—not just as a gesture of hope, but as a strategic step in building sustainable food systems and restoring dignity through care.
This phase of the Arbor Vitae Initiative wasn’t just about putting trees in the ground—it was about putting them in the right ground. While OJ Erasmus Primary was initially considered, what we saw there was heartbreaking. On the very day we came to survey the land, a group of Grade 6 boys snapped off a tree branch the size of a man’s thigh—just for a handful of berries. That kind of destruction is not something we can afford when each tree represents months of care, investment, and community nourishment. So we chose differently.
Where did the trees go?
🌱 Saskia’s Place Library—a centre of reading, safety, and growth
🌱 Kalbaskraal Boutique Hotel—one of our partners in the village feeding and sustainable food programme
🌱 No-Stone Foundation HQ—which will soon double as a training centre for food guilds, ensuring not just food, but food wisdom, is grown and shared
By planting at No-Stone HQ, we ensure the fruit can reach the village whole, ripe, and undamaged—protected from early picking or vandalism. These are not just trees; they’re a living pantry.
What did we plant?
A diverse and deliberate mix of 48 trees including:
Apples (Golden Delicious, Top Red, Bulida)
Figs (Adams, Black Mission)
Mulberry, Litchi, and Pear
Nectarines and Peaches
Oranges, Naartjies, Lemons
Plums and even Cherry
Plus hardy indigenous species like Tarconanthus, Syzygium Cordatum, and Rhus Pendulina
The groundwork wasn’t easy. The soil was hard—physically and metaphorically. Some of the ladies from the Roots and Wings programme came to help, but we needed strong arms and picks to break through the crust of long neglect. And we found them—right here in the village. The trees were planted by locals, for locals.
Now, we wait for spring.