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.

Coffee, good company and beautiful stories

go! Platteland

Chitchat

News & diary • The rich palette of autumn ushers in a renewed appreciation for transition and transience. Fittingly, this season’s diary brims with nostalgia for old favourites. Celebrate the abundance of harvest season at a pomegranate or dahlia festival, rediscover rooibos tea in a new guise, and board a steam train to revisit a bygone era.

Dates to diarise*

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Let’s go to town • Get into the spirit of autumn with these beautifully made finds from Alice, Barrydale, Cape Town, Cradock, Darling, Elgin, George, Graaff-Reinet, Great Brak River, Harkerville, Hoekwil, Paarl and the West Coast.

KOMATIPOORT Gateway to Kruger (and Mozambique) • At the confluence of the Komati and Crocodile rivers in Mpumalanga, you’ll find the border town of Komatipoort. This place of extremes and contradictions is home to an established farming community, and provides a gateway to Africa’s east coast and several of the country’s most well-known and iconic private game lodges and golf courses.

Meet the people

Handmade miracles from Bushmanland • On every farm in Bushmanland, you’ll find a courageous woman putting her hands to work to counteract the effects of the drought that’s ravaged the region, to relieve debt and reduce despondency. From baking, knitting and spinning wool to making sheepskin slippers, and tallow soap and skincare products, they’re helping to keep their households going, providing hope and dignity in the process.

KLAARSTROOM A sepia photo frozen in time • A donkey cart clip-clopping through the only street in Klaarstroom makes you feel as if you’ve wandered into an old sepia photograph. The only visible change in this Karoo town over the past century seems to be the fresh consignments of silence devotees who arrive here in search of salvation.

Meet the people

FAIRLAND Smart Women • Want to start your own business or supercharge your side hustle? The online course 7 Steps to Your Start-Up will give you all the tools you need for a one-off fee of only R950.

It’s not just a game… It’s what dreams are made of! • It might sound a little far-fetched, but the Prior Grange Oval – a beautiful cricket field on a farm near Springfontein in the Southern Free State – really is a place where platteland dreams come true, writes Willem van der Berg after taking to the field himself.

A place for the curious and creative • A decades-long commitment to the simple mantra of doing what you love has shaped a business model that has transformed a family farm in the Lowveld into an incubator of ideas for its owners and an inspiring retreat for artists and artisans.

PRINCE ALBERT Skills give true hope • Ground-breaking community projects by the Prince Albert Community Trust – from a brand-new Hospitality Academy, to a range of bodycare products and the Journey to Jazz Festival at the end of April – are proving how hands-on skills development can turn hope into reality.

Meet the people

‘Dr. Christo here, how can I help?’ • In Bethlehem in the Eastern Free State, a young veterinarian is living out his passion for animal care and husbandry – in a community that has the greatest appreciation for his...