Since 2008, I have returned to a farm in the Heidelberg district of South Africa to document the seasonal harvest of Khakibos, a resilient indigenous plant whose essential oils provide livelihoods for communities across the region.

​

Each winter, the landscape changes with the arrival of the harvesters. As the fields fill with people, the land becomes more than a place of work—it becomes a meeting point between labour, memory and survival, reminding us that our relationship with the earth is measured not only by what we take from it, but by what we are prepared to nurture in return.

​

Men and women travel from surrounding communities and neighbouring Lesotho in search of seasonal employment, their lives shaped by the rhythms of the land and the uncertainties of rural economies. Through the work of BioAfrica, the harvest has created opportunities for hundreds of people, transforming an often-overlooked indigenous plant into a source of income, dignity and hope.

​

Returning year after year has revealed the harvest as both an ending and a beginning. People arrive with hope, work the land and move on, yet the fields remain, carrying the memory of those who have passed across them. In this quiet cycle lies a story not only of labour, but of belonging.

To harvest is to place faith in the future. The seed is planted long before its value is known, and the land asks for patience before reward. In South Africa, where questions of land, labour and belonging remain deeply contested, the harvest becomes more than an agricultural act. It is a reflection of our dependence on one another and on the landscapes that continue to sustain us.