Our programme activities start off with both the project implementation through land planning development and community mobilization. Once funding is secured the procurement order is placed for the required plant material and capital equipment. This is initiated by FTFA and operationally managed by RES.

Blue Disa is already a development site and thus accustomed to and aligned with the existing and ongoing FTFA Bamboo for Africa programme. We identify the required land to be planted and Reverent Kopano arranges the community engagement with the support of FTFA.

A timeline is drawn to ensure that plant material is hardened off before reaching the site. The planting teams are set in motion to do site preparation before the arrival of the plant material. Planting commences in line with the long term weather forecast to ensure the watering requirement for establishment of the plant material is minimized.
Project delivery is entirely dependent on the will of nature and the time of grant allocation. Bamboo planting in South Africa is governed by weather and nature and can only develop in line with the natural growth season of the plants and climatic conditions. The current site can support planting up to the end of January for the current planting season. Should this deadline be missed the next opportunity will arrive with the next planting season starting from September 2012 with the arrival of the spring rains. FTFA and RES have enough hardened plant material in stock to facilitate a late season planting in January 2012.
Cash crops are chosen based on the best off-take price obtainable from local agricultural brokers at the time of planning and planting unless the community decides that the production to be used for own consumption and their feeding scheme and are then delivered according to their preference.

The project site is already active and carbon off-sets and other sponsorship funding is directed to the site. We have developed 19ha of the possible 200ha to date and will continue to do so until the full 200ha is planted. There are 300 more farms available in this area, all surrounded by very deprived communities as a relic of the burgeoned mining age of late and people moving from the rural areas to the cities looking for better livelihoods.

The timeframe for planting is around 3 months and is ultimately dependent on the rainfall. We take account of the long term weather forecast and liaise with local farmers in the region on the best planting times. Rains are monitored and soil moisture checked to get to the appropriate planting times, to reduce the requirement for watering in the plant establishment phase.

Should the planting not be done by the end of January and stand over to September, the project lead time will be 6 months with for the preparation of tissue culture bamboo material and hardening off the plants for the planting season and pre-preparation of the soil for the planting season. Supporting fencing will be installed as required. The duration of establishing the plant material is entirely dependent on the timing and final release of funds. Delivery of the 27ha can be done in one month at a push and cash crop selection will depend on the seasonal planting cycle and the preference of the community on what plant material to plant for cash crops.

The procurement of infrastructure is exchange rate dependent and can be best approached at the time of grant allocation. It hedges around the value of the dollar and the optional element will be to purchase second hand local content, rather than importing the required goods.

The project delivery timeframe will be for a year, if done immediately we do have plant stock available and the site is functional to deliver before January. In the alternative it will be a 6 month run up to September, planting with the first rains and support to the fruition of the first harvest the following March to May 2013.