go! Platteland

The slow life is the good life: go! Platteland celebrates the rural lifestyle and the entrepreneurial spirit of people whose hearts are in the platteland – whether they grew up in the countryside or are already based there, are contemplating making the move or simply hankering after the rural life. Platteland offers articles that focus on entrepreneurs, DIY projects, animals, gardening, food, towns and people. It is both practical and inspiring – as much of a visual feast as it is a celebration of great writing.

Why do we still litter?

go! Platteland

Chitchat

News & diary • Whether you’re hibernating or venturing out this chilly season, there’s so much to enjoy: sample SA’s award-winning blended whisky, join the club that delivers freshly-ground flour to your doorstep, or enter a preserve-making competition.

It’s time for the Karoo Winter Wool Festival

Are you South Africa’s king or queen of preserves?

Purple reigns at Canettevallei

Join the ‘micro-flour-of-the-month’ club

Whose coffee comes out tops?

The world’s best whisky from Wellington, SA

Dates to diarise*

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Let’s go to town • These hot finds for colder days came from Bedford, Cape Town, George, Gqeberha, Greyton, Johannesburg, Ladismith, Mossel Bay, Plettenberg Bay, Sedgefield and The Crags.

Salts of the earth • Thirteen years ago, Johannita Eksteen convinced her now late mom there was a market for the salt-and-herb mixes she handed out to friends and family, generally free of charge. Today, the Funky Ouma and Sout Afrika ranges turn every meal into a feast – even in Europe, Scandinavia and Canada!

Hot springs, warm hearts • More and more travellers on the R62 are discovering that it’s worth taking a detour to the beautifully maintained town of Montagu for coffee or breakfast, or perhaps a long weekend, or even to start a peaceful new life in the embrace of the Cape Fold Belt.

Meet the people

Finding home in a folly • Swapping a life in Twickenham in the UK for the foothills of the Southern Drakensberg might not sound like everyone’s cup of tea, but for Robyn Ferraz a return to her family farm, the birthplace of the Splashy Fen Festival, has proved to be a rewarding labour of love.

Back ontrack! • Fauresmith in the southwestern Free State was on the verge of collapse. But then Lottoland’s Help ’n Dorp (Help a Town) project entered the picture. The residents grabbed their windfall with both hands and made it work hard, creating a place people want to return to.

KweKwe chic • The tale of Sonwabisile Yekani from Richmond in the Karoo used to be one of poverty, drugs and despair. Ironically, his life changed for the better after he lost his mother. And then, one day, he crossed paths with a Good Samaritan who noticed him and gave him a chance.

From pod pest to superfood • Brothers Brandt and Aam Coetzee are creating jobs in the platteland through the production of two food supplements and a coffee drink made from the seedpods of prosopis trees. By doing so, they’re also helping to limit the spread of these invasive trees, which slurp up borehole and rainwater in the thirstiest parts of South Africa.

strong! The Riemland is going • There’s a lot of talk about the decline of South Africa’s platteland towns and surrounds, and many opinions on how to stop the decay are shared from the comfort of chairs and keyboards. But the people of Memel, Vrede and Verkykerskop in the northeastern Free State don’t have time to listen to these stories. They’re too busy doing something about it.

Meet the people

What is a house? • Archaeologists differ in their estimations on the oldest shelters built by our ancestors. A safe estimate is around 400 000 years, although some believe the...