The River Farm is our family home. It is also home to an exceptional natural ecosystem, situated in the heart of the Klein Karoo between the bordering black and red, Swartberg and Rooiberg, Mountain Ranges. The farm lies in a secluded valley within the greater Gouritz Biosphere Reserve. It is ecologically significant partly because 3 major biomes – (1) The Fynbos Biome, (2) The Succulent Karoo Biome and (3) The Albany/Subtropical Thicket Biome – intersect in the valley. Due to its endemic flora and fauna, 2 globally recognised World Biodiversity Hotspots (of which there exist 36) are identified in the valley: The Cape Floristic and The Succulent Karoo Biodiversity Hotspots. The World Biodiversity Hotspots are specified geographical regions that have been highlighted because they contain a particularly high concentration of unique and endangered plant and animal species found nowhere else on the planet.

In line with maintaining our family home, we are passionately dedicated to the preservation and evolution of this exceptional natural environment. We contribute to this end by drawing on alternative agricultural methods like Regenerative Agriculture and Permaculture, utilising restorative techniques like contour swales and Beaver Dam Analogues in order to treat erosion, prevent runoff and ultimately hold more moisture in the soil. Contour swales are furrows dug on contour and their effect is to prevent erosive runoff by holding water wherever it can penetrate into the soil. Beaver Dam Analogues are essentially beaver dams built by humans (instead of beavers) in erosion gorges to slow down and hold the water during extreme rain events, effectively building up instead of washing away healthy soil. We also plant Spekboom wherever we go. The River Farm is densely populated by the wonder plant Spekboom (Portulacaria afra). It is regarded as a wonder plant because of its ability to efficiently capture carbon from the atmosphere at a rate of 10 tons per hectare per year.

The natural feedback from these activities is positive, immediate, lasting and sometimes dramatic. We have been able to observe a natural succession of plant growth, in previously bare, eroded and saline areas, from hardy pioneer plants (referred in other contexts as ‘weeds’), to a dense mix of cover plants and ultimately a mulched and healthy soil able to nourish indigenous flora and also nutritious plants like oats and lucerne. We have also observed an increase in diversity and quantity of previously absent fauna: from vital reptile populations, to anomalous Bee-Eaters and viable populations of large antelope like Kudu. The River Farm is an integral part of an exceptional natural ecosystem sustained by its plants, animals and by the people who inhabit and visit it.