Pioneering sustainable farming in Eastern Cape

In the heart of Thornhill in the Eastern Cape, you'll find Crossways Farm Village, South Africa's first contemporary new rural town and smart village. Octavia Avesca Spandiel visited this innovative community, where conservation, agriculture and sustainable living are seamlessly integrated.

- Octavia Avesca Spandiel

Around 40km from Gqeberha, adjacent to Van Staden’s Bridge and bordering the Garden Route and Baviaanskloof World Heritage Site, lies Crossways Farm Village. This unique blend of agribusiness and sustainable living is the brainchild of landscape architect and property developer Chris Mulder. Officially launched on 19 November 2010, this project embodies a new paradigm in rural development.

In 2019, agribusiness person David Osborne joined Mulder as a major shareholder in Crossways Farm Village, which has been proclaimed a ‘new rural town’. The developer provides all infrastructure and bulk services, such as roads, water, sewerage, power, fibre optics, and security.

Mulder describes Crossways Farm Village as “a harmonious blend of conservation, agriculture and sustainable living”. Spanning 520ha, it is divided into three equal and sustainable nodes: one dedicated to conservation, another to urban agriculture and a working dairy farm, and the third to residential living, encompassing 732 plots of land, communal and commercial spaces, industrial precincts, and recreational grounds.

This division ensures a balanced approach to development while preserving the natural environment.

FAST FACTS

• Crossways Farm Village, launched in 2010, is located 30km from Gqeberha, near Van Staden’s Bridge.

• The village spans 520ha and is divided into three equal nodes dedicated to conservation, urban agriculture, and residential living.

• The village includes a working dairy farm with about 450 cows, providing fresh milk for the residents and the broader market.

“From the very beginning, sustainability was our guiding principle. We wanted to create a place where people could live in harmony with nature, where nothing is wasted and resources are renewable,” says Mulder.