Our Farm

Concordia Flower Exporters was founded 2004.

It is a 1100ha eco friendly Fynbos farm located in Baardskeerdersbos – the Fynbos heartland of the Western Cape, South-Africa. This third generation flower farm employs 20 staff, 80% female. Proteas and Leucospermum flourishes here in their natural habitat. Silver Bunia is harvested high up in the mountains on our own farm. Sustainability – our farming practices are designed to protect and preserve the natural environment, ensuring that fynbos will continue to thrive for generations to come.

We expand plantations annually with 1,5 + hectares focusing on Hybrids and Cynoroides.

Concordia Flowers provides farm fresh cultivated proteas as well as fynbos veld flowers as straight pack stems and bouquets. Flowers picked gets packed on the farm to enable freshness and maintain the cold chain to increase shelf life.

Location

The prime location in the Fynbos biosphere gives unique diversity of Veldfynbos. Fynbos is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape of South Africa.

This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate and rainy winters and between 10 to 380m above sea level.

Concordia Flower Exporters and farm are 160km from the Cape Town International Airport.

We do use your own transport to take our Flowers to the Airport.

Management and Personnel

The farm is owned by Koos de Wet (Managing Director) and Co-Owner Riana De Wet
Melandi Van Eeden heads the admin & finance department. The farm manager is William McDonald.
Fienie Barendse and Rochelle Barendse is in charge of quality control.
Experienced employees are relied on for harvesting, flowers bouquets making and packing of flowers for export.
Male employees are responsible for farm work, labour, drivers and maintaining the fire breaks and prevention of erosion.

Harvesting flowers on the farm

Sustainable harvesting benefits the farm and its people in many ways. It insures permanent year-round employment.

We harvest fynbos and proteas as needed in the mountains or scrubby lands – maximum 50% harvesting of any plant. Pruning goes hand in hand with harvesting to ensure healthy plant growth and long stems.

Harvesting take place early mornings, cooler temperatures. Harvested flowers gets packed in water baths and cold rooms on our
farm.

Concordia Standards

Good planting material
Fertilization and watering through drip irrigation for optimize use.
Weed mat – to minimize weed, pesticides and optimize production as well as utilizing water more sufficient.
Spaces between rows are filled up with organic waste for weed control as well as soil health.
Prune to optimize stem length and plant health.
Quality Control from growing cuttings to fertilization, pest control and Illness prevention
Harvested flowers must hydrate and maximize time in the cold chain.
Outsourcing fynbos flowers only from reputable neighbouring growers with Cape Nature permit

Certifications

Siza Social Acceditation

B-BBEE level 4

LWO – Labour Law Employers Organisation

Social & Environmental

95 % renewable solar energy – Eco friendly, minimalize carbon footprint and overcome loadshedding.
80 % Female Employees on farm – Diversity & Equality
Organic Waste Recycling (Shred flower waste)
Sustainable Harvesting
Burn disease ridden plants and rests.
Efficient Water Irrigation & Control
Maintaining Fire Breaks
Erosion Maintenance
Alien Clearing Program (Hakia, Pine & Myrtel)

Active member:
FPA – Fire Protection Association
Strandveld Agriculture Organization
Cape Nature permit to sell protected Flora