Diversity and direct marketing drive a small farm's success

On a small piece of land in Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng, Alan and Belinda Stewart have built a diversified enterprise that produces vegetables, eggs, and cheese, taking their harvest directly to customers through a farmer's market and home deliveries.

- Lindi Botha reports.

Their journey offers lessons in diversification and building demand, proving that even a modest footprint can yield a sustainable livelihood.

Alan and Belinda Stewart were eager to grow their family of three to four. After many years of praying for a second child, a moment of hope arrived one Sunday when their pastor told them he believed their baby was on the way.

However, by the time the couple had reached their 40s nearly a decade later, the baby still hadn't arrived.

Belinda quipped that perhaps the pastor meant calves and lambs and not a human baby, and she suggested they buy a piece of land and start farming.

In 2011, she and Alan secured a plot just outside Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng, and the couple set about building a home.

“And then I fell pregnant,” laughs Belinda. “We figured the timing was great because now our child could grow up on a farm.”

However, the way forward wasn't entirely clear. “Alan was a handyman and I was a swimming teacher, but we were too far out of town for it to be feasible to keep our jobs. We prayed for a way to earn an income off the land and, in 2016, it came,” she says.

“Our neighbour was producing herbs and lettuce, which she delivered to a steady list of clients. But she was moving and asked us if we wanted to take over the business.

“We decided to leap in, and she gave us a rundown of how to produce the crops and work with the clients. We also took over her staff, who came with a lot of knowledge and really helped us continue production.”

Today, the couple's farm, HaShem Farms, is well diversified, producing vegetables, herbs, eggs, and cheese. These are sold at the Pretoria Boeremark in Silverton, to restaurants, and directly to the public. First-time farming is no easy feat, and Belinda admits to paying a lot of 'school fees'. “But it keeps you humble,” she smiles.

DIVERSITY DRIVES RESILIENCE