Sarah Louw, 59, and Salomina Myburgh, 54 were handed over a dilapidated and abandoned farm and turned it all around into a big success.
This morning “land expropriation without compensation” became a massive topic in South Africa but while some are hot under the collar, we need to remember that this could very well mean success for many marginalised South Africans.
Sarah Louw and Salomina Myburgh are examples of this done right. The women were given the farm by the Eastern Cape department of rural development and agrarian reform. They were also given 300 ewes by the department of trade and industry.
The best friends moved to the farm in 2011 and found it stripped bare. The water pipes had been removed from the buildings, the tractor that was supposed to be on site was stolen and their fence had fallen and been cut open. The farmhouse was also in tatters, the windows and roof were all broken.
They were in shock and thought the department would have been aware of the state of the farm. Refusing to give in, the women started fixing things up. They repaired their windmill and all the damage on the stripped farm.
“When we got here, the windmills weren’t working, crucial water pumps had been plucked from the earth and the fencing around the farm was collapsing,”
“We had to install everything from scratch, and even buy a tractor.
“The previous owners planted olive trees for us which we know nothing about.
“I thought the department checked on these things – because, without them, farms are bound to fail,” – Sarah Louw
Thankfully the friends had experience from their childhoods, herding cattle. They were also sent on a 3-year training course by Mohair South Africa. They managed to hire 5 people, 3 of which are employed on a full-time basis.
“We learnt how to take care of our goats and so forth but the day-to-day of running a farm is something we still need to learn but we get a lot of assistance from the older gentleman who works for us.
“He spent his whole life on a farm so some of the things we still need to learn come naturally to him,” – Sarah Louw
Since 2011 Sarah and Salomina have grown their stock to 953 goats and 85 cattle. Their farm is turning over a profit and they officially consider themselves as a commercial farm.
“This is no longer a project. “We’re saying it’s a commercial farm because we have 900 goats and we also have cows and we’re making a profit, even if it’s not where we’d like it to be,”
They have a ways to go but feel hopeful about their future.
“I love farming because it has opened a lot of doors for me and I’m able to take care of my deceased friend’s daughter who is doing Grade 12 and is planning on going to university to study agriculture.” – Sarah Louw
Not only has their farm grown, their friendship has become stronger. The friends have made a success of this farm and plan to work even harder to employ more people and grow their profits.
This is an example of land redistribution done right!
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