Prof Tim Noakes and a Healthy Karoo

Cradock will host the second sitting of the Karoo Parliament in November 2014.

Professor Tim Noakes, who has fascinated South Africans with his turnaround on carbohydrates, will be the keynote speaker at the second sitting of the Karoo Parliament on 6 November.

Organised by the Karoo Development Foundation, the Parliament will be meeting this year in Cradock.

Noakes will be addressing the subject of a healthy Karoo, and why correct nutrition is essential for local development.

Many people suffer from diabetes and obesity here and in the rest of South Africa. Yet many of the foods produced in the Karoo can be health-beneficial: venison, lamb, olive oils, nuts and berries.

Appropriately enough, food tourism and food festivals in the Karoo are starting to gain traction. KDF co-founder and conference organiser Professor Doreen Atkinson of the University of the Free State hopes the second sitting of the Karoo Parliament will again strengthen linkages in the region.

There will be three breakaway sessions which will focus on tourism (particularly the Olive Schreiner Route and food tourism); Karoo wellness (with emphasis on nutrition and education) and the revitalisation of town economies.

The day before the Parliament there will be an opportunity for specialist sessions.

Sponsorship from Griekwaland Wes Kooperasie, the Universities of the Free State and Pretoria, and by Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality means that exhibition space for Karoo products can be provided free of charge at the Vusubuntu Hall venue.