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Our articles as listed below:
"River's Rave"
"Course of a River"
"The Heart of the Land - enlightened farming in the Karoo"
"Drought"

River's Rave
Written by River Rosenthal. 11 August 2008.

What the “F…”am I doing farming! I could be sitting in a pavement café in Camps Bay drinking café latte or cuppa chino, reading about life in the Cape Times, as I watch beautiful woman who are growing ever younger, and more delectable, walk by.
I could be cruising in my fancy convertible, with the roof down on my way to Tai Chi class and then a massage……………BUT………
Here I am, on a frontier farm in the central Karoo fighting for survival.
In summer it’s really hot, forty-something, in winter it’s frost-bite and freezing in the morning, with snow on the mountains and ice in the birdbath.

Steven Covey taught me to play win-win; I’m still waiting for him to teach it to the leopard that eats my sheep, the puffadder that bit my dog, the Lucerne that killed five sheep, one cow on the same day. I struggle with jackal, rooikat, civet cat, mongoose, all of which are partial to chicken (chicken who never win-win), porcupine, which uproot my olive trees, rats and mice, that make their homes in the expensive duvets, in the guest cottage dangerous cobras, stinging scorpions, ticks who fasten themselves to sheep, cattle, dogs and to me and will not let go, flies that want to fly up my nose or in my ears, and mosquitoes who bite me on the neck and also between the shoulder-blades, where, try as I may I just cant reach, which also bugs me!
I’m going to tell Steven Covey about the weeds that are so prolific, they overtook a field of Lucerne the size of two rugby fields, about diseases I cant see with the naked eye only the results of sick trees animals and plants. About the rain that washed my road away and broke the dam wall causing a flood, about the sun that during the drought wilted my trees, causing me a sceptic and an agnostic to pray to a personal god for help!

We (Oh, its no longer we! I’ll get to that later.)Live in a small oasis with near desert conditions stretching in three directions East North and West (The Groot Karoo). It is only that we live in a watershed, created by high mountains where a rainfall of a mere 50mm can fill our large dam, which holds some 200,000,000 litres of water, and will see our farm through twelve months, (depending of course on usage or abusage), that we can endeavour to dream of creating,
SOMETHING SPECIAL
… a place of beauty, where I and maybe others can connect with nature, the earth, basic sanity!
I see myself as the custodian of this land, which has had perhaps as many as thirty farmers before me exercising their influence, both good and bad, over the last three centuries. May there be thirty or more to come after me, after I have served my time, and done my bit!
In my culture we refer to Mother Nature, John Lennon sings “Mother Nature’s son” the earth as “mother earth” as the realization is that every molecule of our bodies, all the protein, minerals and liquids that make up our physical bodies come from this earth. As John O Donahue puts it, “we are made of clay” .Some understand the problems of pollution, overexploitation and greed where animals and plants have become extinct and others are endangered, due to our intimate relationship with her we too become polluted and endangered. What happens to the earth happens to us. As the earth becomes impoverished we to become poorer.
The very “inconvenient truth” of global warming and the threat to life as we know it is ever-present. Caring people are considering the carbon footprints they make every step they take, every plane or every train, every appliance and every call they make.

My response is to check my attitude, “all things change when I do.” Is my attitude one of a consumer? Where I can do what I like just because I have money! Or do I have a responsibility (respond ability) and the opportunity to be sensitive, to be respectful, to be reverent and relevant, to care, to be part of a solution?
Our dream, (Beverly, my partner and I),…. dream of a farm that is self sufficient (to produce our own organic food, meat, eggs, butter, and vegetables with the help of micro-organisms, earthworms, compost, loam, sand, soil, water, seed, plant, animals, human endeavour and sunshine.)
A farm that is self sustainable, i.e. it generates enough income, so that Beverly no longer needs to work in town. The farm produces surplus energy.
For me sustainability means; the farm is not being exploited or depleted to produce product, but rather that the land has become so fertile, so healthy so productive that there is a natural abundance, and that this abundance overflows into the world at large.
That the farm makes a difference;
That we attract more likeminded people.
People;
Like the great WWOOF’ers(Willing workers on organic farms) people from all over the world who have come and given of themselves for free just to work on Heartland.
Like the guest, who stayed up all night, to help a sow give birth to eleven piglets.
Like the children who rescued the runt, the smallest piglet of a litter, whom they called Shallot and bottle-fed her for a week, until they left for home.
Like the four year-old girl who scrambled all the way to the waterfall. A tough, one and a half hour hike, over boulders and through water, and then all the way back again.
Like the people who have been so excited about earth worms, that they open the worm-compost with their hands and start looking for worm eggs.
Like the family who stayed in Lavender cottage, on one of the coldest weekends. A cottage that has no electricity. Here you need to make a fire two hours, and heat the water in the “donkey” geyser before you can take a bath. The bath is outdoors under the stars. These kids were grinning with excitement, as they went bird-watching and exploring the river. They looked at me humorously as I offered them a gas-heater for the cold night ahead and said “nah we are going to have a fire. Can we borrow your axe”
And like the professor from Stellenbosh who was full of good humour and gave me a bottle of wine, despite the fact that his roof leaked in three places during the rainy night.
Like the people who bought our olive oil seven bottles at a time.

At the moment the world is faced with the energy crisis and overpopulation.
Maybe its one problem, maybe it’s many, but it seems that there just isn’t enough, especially if everybody gets rich and adopts the consumer lifestyle of the Western world.
My question is what is sustainable?
Who are they to say?
Who will regulate?
The time has come for each human being to volunteer.
To be educated, and self-disciplined.
What am I saying!?
Am I out of my head?
Maybe!

That is what I am doing on Hartland Farm; I’m checking it out, as an example, and providing an experiential learning opportunity.
In the world of farming there already exist a number of alternatives to the old petrochemical fertilizers and insecticides, mono culture, deep ploughing exploitation of the earth. At present I am exploring Permaculture, Biodynamic and Homa Farming techniques. These disciplines are ethic based and work with sensitivity, a nurturing and a caring that looks at long term results and consequences.

Forty odd years ago, Bob Dylan said

“Please get out of the new one (I understand one as world)
If you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a changing”
A Zen master once said “A good sentence is like a stake in the ground,
to which you can tether a donkey for a thousand years.”
I am a romantic. My good friend Tony calls me a “kleptoluniac”,
a person who “wants to steal the moon.”
I say a good sentence is like a feather, give me enough of them and
I’ll build wings and fly you to the moon!

Love River

"Course of a River"
Hartland Farms featured July issue of Country Life.
Article by Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit.

Farmers are not always born, they're sometimes made. Even though a fifth generation plaasboer might heartily disagree with this, it is just possible that a yoga instructor from Hout Bay can tackle the Karoo head-on and eventually win.

Click here to view the article >>

"The Heart of the Land - enlightened farming in the Karoo"
Hartland Farms featured in Greenprint magazine's summer edition of 2008.
Article by Arlene Cameron.

One would be justified in observing that farming in the Karoo is certainly not for sissies. There are many idealistic city folk who dream of halcyon days of quiet bliss; who slave away at dreary jobs to save up for that magical time when they have sufficient funds to retire to the pastoral peace and quiet of the lovely countryside; furry animals frolicking about their feet while they rock gently on the stoep; sighing contentedly as they survey the fields of lucrative crops silhouetted against the sky as the last rays of sun go down on another productive day in paradise.

If that is your dream then it might be an idea to visit River and Bev, who four years ago bought Hartland, a farm in the Klein Karoo, that is indeed the fulfilment of a dream. It certainly has fluffy lambs gambolling across grassy fields, waddling geese, squawking bantams, contented piggies, glossy cows gushing torrents of foamy milk, happy quackies splashing on a pretty pond and purple mountains framing a dam of pure, clean water.

But whilst the beautiful fields of lavender emanate a heavenly scent, there are times when River and Bev will tell you that it all seems far from heaven sent! In fact perseverance has become their motto and their mantra:

Every great success, in business or in your personal life, begins with a dream or a vision. But the road from dream to reality is full of obstacles. When everything in your life goes wrong and the barriers seem insurmountable, you will face a choice between faith in your vision and becoming cynical.

Contrary to popular belief, it is perseverance that distinguishes ordinary and extraordinary success - not intelligence and talent! Dreams and perseverance are a winning formula for success. Accept that obstacles are there to make you stronger. Dream, persevere and your vision will become a reality. Awaken your potential knowing that the power to succeed is already within you.

Creating an eco-farm

Though River was a vegetarian for most of his adult life, he has accepted the reality of the drought prone environment in the Karoo. The main source of income in this area is meat. Since his determination to succeed knows no bounds, he had to become a breeder and eater of meat. But this is done using very different methods to conventional farms.

These two intrepid farmers have a pioneering instinct, and were determined to find a way to farm totally organically, despite the dictates of the surroundings. They researched the options, and discovered the wonderful world of Effective Micro-Organisms. They propogate and mulitply these effective organisms in molasses and then inoculate the land and the animals with them.

Effective Micro-Organisms are similar to probiotics, in that they replace the benevolent micro-organisms that sustain health in all living matter. Man-made pollution has affected almost every atom and molecule on Earth.

Antibiotics have been successfully used in the last 40 years to attack the harmful organisms that cause disease. They have successfully saved us from some of the worst ravages of illness. However, as most people have noticed, they bring in their wake scores of other problems such as reduced immunity to other infections. This is because they indiscriminately kill all organisms, including those that are beneficial to the health of humans, animals, plants and in fact life itself. These therefore need to be replaced in order to maintain a balance.

One of the first things visitors notice when visiting the farmyard is that there is very little smell of any sort. Likewise the toilets, drains and tanks on the farm have no odour. This is the result of farming with Effective Micro-Organisms. Visitors also remark on the glossy coats, the wet noses, the abundant fluff and glowing health of all the farm animals.

Some of the animals are sustained by the lucerne grown on the verdant pastures of the Field of Dreams. Children love the touch pen with geese, ducks, peacocks, chickens, turkeys, white guinea fowl, dwarf goats and a tortoise all happily going about their business around a big pond fringed with sunflowers, their golden heads following the trajectory of the sun.

An olive grove and herb garden thrive on these organisms in the Field of Joy, where olives and lavender can be picked in season. Hartland has fields of rose geranium and lavender. These are distilled to make essentail oils.

River has a nursery of "mother plants" from which he grows cuttings. He grows herbs to make compost and special oils. He uses these to repel insects. He also uses plants between his crops that are known for their insect repelling properties, such as garlic and marigolds. In this way he has no need to use toxic chemical pesticides.

Legacy of the past: factory farming

Considering how this land was treated up till a few years ago, and the perennial lack of rain, the crops are growing rapidly and are visibly healthy. Hartland, like most of the farms in SA and elsewhere, was maltreated by generations of farmers who were more interested in short-term profits than in long-term respect for the land. Invasive farming methods were used extensively. Nature was regarded as an enemy to be exploited and ruthlessly conquered. This fast recovery is in small part due to farming with earthworms.

It has become quite a trend to keep an earthworm farm in one's home to dispose of organic garbage without any odour or flies, and to make compost. They were a natural part of the earth's eco-system until very recently, when they were destroyed by fertilisers and pesticides.

But earthworms can do much more than this. Who would have thought that the lowly worm could provide the difference between success and bankruptcy? Yet the remarkable creatures aerate the soil, help to restore the PH balance, replace nutrients that were lost and break the ground so that roots of plants can penetrate deeper, thereby making them stronger.

Eco-vacations

A visit to Hartland is guaranteed to fill you with health, happiness and inspiration. A number of self-catering cottages are available, each with different décor and fabulous views of the mountains and valley. It's a great place to take kids, who might even get to ride a pig or a cow. Some have outdoor showers or baths and allow an experience of the most amazing show on earth - the magnificent Karoo sky and music courtesy of bird-song and crickets. Endless entertainment is provided by free range pigs that often look more like baby hippopotomi, their fat pink piglets wriggling about in the most fragrant muck you'll ever find, ostriches strutting their stuff, calves frolicking about the meadows and cows contentedly chomping the hay. Baskets of fresh goodies can be delivered to your cottage: free range eggs, full cream or skim milk, double cream, farm butter, freshly baked bread, jams and cheese and seasonal organic veggies, succulent lamb and free range pork. And, of course, fresh mountian spring water.

You can join River on a farm tour, whilst those who are feeling energetic can follow him up the gorge to a river that cascades down the mountain, feeding the dam and essentially sustaining all life on the farm. Holistic, sustainable farming methods ensure that nothing is wasted, so milk left over from Jessica, Jezebelle, Jasmine and Jay is fed to the pigs, whose manure feeds the earthworm farm and the compost heap, which in turn provide nutrients for olive trees, herbs and the nursery.

Building the community

Hartland Farms is run by two friendly refugees from the city: an ex-plumber and lawyer who have served their time. In love with nature (and each other), Bev and River are warm, nurturing, practical people who are filled with energy, vigour and unbridled enthusiasm for this magnificent venture. They are determined to not only return the land to health, but also provide a benevolent force for the local people. They have recently purchased three nearby farms, and are hoping to obtain funding to build a crèche and a school. If they can successfully turn these farms into commercially viable ventures they will be in a position to provide better housing, medical care and education to the surrounding farm workers, but in the meantime they need to obtain corporate or government funding. Few farmers are better positioned to make a real difference in every way than these two wonderful, newly minted organic farmers!

Drought
Written by River Rosenthal. September 2010.

Many years between them …
And still they wander in the forests

“My throat so dry…”
I dream of rain … almost all the time
I long to quench my thirst from cool mountain waters
Fresh and cold … full of sparkle and dance
Between the golden rocks
I want to play and frolic in happy innocence …
And show-off my skills to your benevolent and smiling eyes
No I will not grow up…
No, No, No!
I stamp my petulant foot

“Loosen your skirt…”

The drought is taking its toll
Plants begin to wilt, the earth so parched
No flowers this spring …

“Pray for rain…” she said

“I do wise sister, I do…”

“My life is a prayer”

“I think of rain day and night …
And the moisture in the deep earth
Where I will bury my lips
And suckle”

“Be still…” you say
“…hush my love, be still”

I lie quiet, my head on your breast,
Dreaming and hoping that …
the rains will come …

I listen to your heart …
Beating …
… beating … beating
In the forest … softly
dah dom, dah dom, dah dom

Then I wake up …
Dom! Dom! Dom!

My heart …

Frightened and scared …
The earth is dry and cracked
The sun beats down
Your lips are parched and dry
Your breasts are soft and flat
There is no life stirring between your thighs
Or fertile place inside…

Only shadows, on the ground …
And the black ash
The stumps of trees …
Burnt by a relentless sun …
A shadow land, a scorched earth,
Apocalyptic … global desolation …

Now is my time …

I will stand up
shoulder my back-pack
step out …
and search for a better way,
for clean water,
and a fertile soil
and for a real union with you …

If I cannot find it …
… I will make it!
For I am a river
And a farmer
And a poet
And a lion
And I know a way!

Your fingernail moon …
Rises gently, behind me …
I gaze at the distant mountains.