community

For the love of reading

There are so many organisations in Stanford doing good work that goes such a long way. This is just one of those stories that we trust you’ll enjoy.

Creative Works aims to promote a nurturing, safe and stimulating environment for children and young adults to explore their creative potential. The Creative Works project was founded in 2012 by Regina Broenner, a qualified Occupational Therapist who offered after school workshops in the local community with the support of David Krut Projects and local community mothers.

In collaboration with Star Literacy, they have started distributing their Small Book and Toy Libraries into the communities and to date, there are 7 boxes in homes in the streets of Stanford and Masakhane.

They are aiming to place one hundred of their libraries into the under-resourced communities in Stanford and Masakhane as well as in the farming communities of the general Overstrand region, as soon as possible.

Did you know, in 2016 (four years ago) the Overstrand statistics recorded 7,665 households reliant on free services and 20,410 children under the age of 14 years old, these figures do not include Masakhane.

This is really something to think about.

With Star Literacy, they have filled large boxes with educational books, puzzles and toys suitable for children from 5 to 13 years old and the custodians of their small mobile book and toy libraries are parents, caretakers, grandparents or young adults living in the streets of Stanford and Masakhane.
The custodians receive training on how to manage the mobile libraries and how to present the books and toys to the children to maximize the benefit to the children.

Children have started Reading Clubs. Here are 2 that have started up in Stanford.

They have also put copies of their Creative Skills Factory activity resources into each library for the children to borrow and enjoy the activities at home with their parents or caregivers.
Their resources are available to download and print from their website, www.creativeskillsfactory.co.za

Follows is a little story written by Ethan who lives in Stanford and one of the children who participated in the Creative Works activities every day during the COVID-19 Lock Down, we bring you a story.

Written at home by Ethan during Lock Down

THE RUBBISH!

Hundreds of people came to see the zoo each year.
When they left, there was always rubbish everywhere.
“Come on animals” said the Keeper, “time to clean the rubbish”.
The animals grumbled amongst themselves.
“Rubbish gives me a pain in the neck” said the girraffe.
“Rubbish gives me the humps” said the camel.
“Rubbish makes me hopping mad” the kangaroo replied.
“Rubbish drives me bananas” said the chimpanzee.
“It makes me squirm” said the snake.
“I can’t bear it” said the koala.
“You’re right” said the hookadaburro.
“It’s no laughing matter”
The Keeper heard the grumbling. “We’ve got a problem” he said, “but I don’t know how to fix it”.
The Keeper got some board and some paints and made a huge sign; “Don’t rubbish our zoo!!”

And with World Clean Up day on 19 September isn’t this just the most appropriate and relevant poem ever?!

During the month of July Creative Works handed out 1,571 activity packs to the children in our communities – 1,013 in Stanford and 558 in Masakhane.

These packs were handed out by their facilitators from their homes every day of the week and in the packs are activities specially prepared for the children to do safely in their own home.

Their amazing team: Tuliswa (Stanford), Bulelwa and Nombulelo (Masakhane), Nicole and Rachel (Stanford)

Donations of educational books, children’s story books, paper, crayons, puzzles and games for their libraries, anything you think a child would enjoy – would be greatly appreciated. Everything is appreciated and used!

Link: https://www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/creativeskillsfactory

The Small Village with the Big Heart

Community support, selfless volunteering of time and effort, generous donations, simple consideration for the wellbeing of others and ingenuity. This is the thread that runs through Stanford Village. So this is what Stanford Village has been up too since the impact of COVID-19.

Stanford Village Foundation, Stanford Rotary and Food4Thought Food relief scheme

These three foundations have been working in collaboration from the outset of lockdown, 27 March 2020 to relieve the reality of food shortages in the Stanford South Community. Food parcels were originally compiled of staple food items from funds generously donated by private individuals and companies. These food parcels (design to feed a small family for a week) were distributed within the poorer community, in alliance with community leaders, in order to ensure fairness. 390 food parcels for example were distributed on 30 April, the last day of hard lockdown alleviating hunger for 1500+ individuals.

Since the commencement of Phase 4, the focus has shifted, concentrating on a ‘Food Bank’ supplementing the municipal food kitchens operating both from the Universals Rugby Club and the Stanford taxi rank. Funds donated have also been used to set up additional daily (7 days/week) food kitchens at Die Kop and Thembelishle (Blombos, Compacta and Melkhout streets).

The ‘Food Bank’ is an extension of the food procurement and storage system set up in the initial 21 day hard lockdown and continues to be coordinated by the Stanford Village Foundation. The Food Bank offers support to food kitchens managed through Food4Thought and Stanford Rotary as well as supplementing the Overstrand Municipality’s efforts in Stanford. The Stanford Village Foundation is assisting Food4Thought with stock control, negotiating food prices and the timely ordering of stock. This helps to ensure that this complex operation runs as smoothly as possible.

Donations have made this possible and heartfelt appreciation must go to every individual and organisation that have reached out. Without this generosity the far-reaching response to flatten the hunger curve would not be possible. The joint effort of the municipality, Rotary and Food4Thought means that at least 1 500 people are fed daily. The vegetable garden at Die Kop provides organic vegetables to the kitchens over and above those purchased with donations. These food kitchens, assisted by chefs from Springfontein Eats, are open to EVERYONE in the community, which also includes the foreigners living in Stanford.

“The support from the entire village since lockdown has been incredible. We cannot thank you enough.” – The Stanford Village Foundation.

 

Feeding Station

Antjies Handmade Naturals – Public Hand Wash Station

A public vintage porcelain hand washing basin together with a supply of hand soap was installed by Antjies Handmade Naturals in Queen Victoria Street, Stanford, for any passers-by who feel they might need a hand wash en-route. Complimenting the basin, a purpose plumbed tap was installed and sponsored by Plumbtec. Outside of all the lovely smelly soaps and luxury bathroom supplies, Antjies has turned their attention since the advent of COVID-19 to manufacturing and supplying household cleaning products, face masks and sanitisers (both liquid and gel formats).

Antjies and wash station on Queen Victoria Street, Stanford

Kiwinet

During these uncertain times, Kiwinet partnered with talented artist Liezl Franken, producing and distributing masks to help slow the spread of COVID 19 under the banner Do Good Feel Good.

The masks are made with 3 layers of fabric, a soft inner cotton layer and an identifiable outer layer to ensure one wears it the right way around! They are made by local seamstresses and tailors either at Kiwinet or at their own home – thereby providing an ongoing income to staff and community by extension. Kiwinet have donated hundreds of masks to the community to date and will continue to do so both within the Stanford and Gansbaai clinics as well as the many soup kitchens.

Donations are welcomed by Kiwinet as there are still many less fortunate people in the local community that require masks but who cannot afford them. Please contact Kiwinet directly – popup@kiwinet.co.za or Liezl – liezlfranken@gmail.com  to order your mask or to help donate.

This is their story on Youtube.

Kiwinet have extended their production line to the public too, selling their masks Plain masks (retailing at R25.00) and Shweshwe masks (retailing at R50.00). They are available at the Kiwinet shop on Daneel Street, Stanford.

 

Fynbos Distillery

Just before lockdown, Stanford’s local distillery, The Jolly Rooster, turned their production line from white spirit distillation to hand sanitiser. Their bottled hand sanitisers are available at the OK Minimark, Daneel Street, Stanford, and refills can be obtained at Martin’s Deli on the R43, Stanford. Jolly good news for all locals and passers-by.

Hand Sanitiser

 

Some worthwhile local causes to get involved with or support with donations during this trying time:

Food Parcel Schemes in Stanford:

The Foundation is a Public Benefit Organisation (Non-profit Company) with the aim to facilitate and coordinate projects and programmes that will benefit the entire Stanford community and ensure overarching sustainability

Contact: 028 341 0430

Stanford Rotary:

Situated in the Overstrand area of the Western Cape, our small Club consists of 10 members and is active with Soup Kitchens, Swap Shops, Winter Warmth and Youth/Early Childhood Development Projects.

Contact: stanford@rotaryclub.org.za

 Food4Thought:

Food 4 Thought Community Projects NPC, runs a successful
and well-loved Xhosa pre-school in Stanford, Western Cape, South Africa.

We are an early child development (ECD) school for children aged 3 to 6 years old.
Our language of tuition is IsiXhosa. We also encourage the use of English as a second language.
Our day starts at 7.00am and the children go home at 4.00pm.
We feed breakfast, lunch and snacks.
We provide safe transport to and from school.
We teach using a curriculum accredited by the South African government.

Contact: food4thoughtstanford@gmail.com

Creative Works:

Creative Works aims to promote a nurturing, safe and stimulating environment for children and young adults to explore their creative potential

Contact: regina@creativeskillsfactory.co.za

Children’s Book Network:

Children’s Book Network (CBN) was founded by Gçina Mhlophe, Lesley Beake & Sindiwe Magona. Our purpose is to bring books to children and children to books.

Contact: info@childrensbook.co.za

Animal Welfare:

SAWS aka Stanford Animal Welfare Society are a group of voluntary Stanford citizens that devote our time to save and help our unprivileged Stanford animals.

Contact: mailto:sawsstanford@gmail.com

Meandering uncertain waters

Over the past few weeks, many of us have been wondering how Tourism in South Africa, and more specifically, Stanford, is planning to navigate the impact of COVID-19. It is difficult to forecast, but we can possibly scenario plan.

Of course, uncertainty lies ahead, which makes engaging and communicating with our partners, industry experts, members and associations is key as we scenario plan looking forward. Our primary market (overseas) continues to see exponential growth in infections and in all instances, the recovery of the tourism industry is entirely dependent on the reopening of all borders (theirs as well as ours) and the resumption of international flights once again.

We are aware that Tourism is the game-changer in our country for both community upliftment as well as wildlife protection. Tourism recovery therefore needs to spearhead any recovery plan. The chain of businesses that support tourism (travel agencies, tour operators, activity owners and accommodation and food providers) therefore need to ensure that they survive the immediate rough road in order to entice the return of travel demand in South Africa asap.

The impact that this pandemic will have on our interconnected industry has to be understood from a few viewpoints looking forward:

Possible vaccination

  • As we’ve read, clinical trials are under way, but it is estimated that a vaccine may not be available for another 12-18 months. With such a high infection rate of the disease, ongoing, intermittent lockdowns could possibly become a norm in order to assist the health providers in coping with the load.

Opening of international borders

  • For our source markets to return, three things need to be in place: healthy travellers (our source markets however have the highest rate of infections), those with disposable income (all economies are taking a hit which will impact directly on individual disposable income), and international flights back in operation (good news … Emirates have just launched a rapid COVID-19 on-site passenger test program using finger prick blood testing and pre-flight testing will become the norm moving forward)
  • A plus for consideration however …. because our source market’s personal spending has been physically constrained (as ours have during lockdown), disposable income may be less impacted than initially thought, which could drive recovery demand for travel post the initial crisis.

SA’s potential to re-open and welcome tourists

  • Because of South Africa’s quick acting and decisive leadership (speared due to the vulnerability of a large number of our population), the slow uptake of infections and the lull in the projected curve (possibly due to the current BCG programs in South Africa), together with aggressive door-to-door contact trace testing, we can be cautiously optimistic that containment will not reach the explosive scale of the slower acting source markets we rely on, launching South Africa to the top of the list as a destination market when travel opportunities do return.

Interdependence between the tourism industry pillars

  • Flights: both regional and international routes will return slowly based solely on confidence in control of the virus by both airlines AND governments as ‘business returns to normal’
  • Tour operators: those offering the full package from flight to activity to accommodation, have been encouraged to practise postponement rather than cancellation (you’ve all seen the #postponedontcancel campaigns) in as many cases as possible, providing a measure of belief that travel will pick up more rapidly post crises than if new business were to be sought from scratch after travel restrictions are lifted, thereby providing an initial pipeline of business as travel confidence and health reassurance (from both airlines and governments as per above) picks up again over a projected 6-12 month lead time.
  • Accommodation and Activities: until the above two travel market suppliers are once again operating, we must rely on local and regional markets in the Western Cape for heads in beds and feet at our establishments. Pricing restructure is going to be key in this instance, together with COVID-19 safety measure reassurance to visitors, to entice local market travel to start the travel wave once again, and in time, due to our weaker (in this case, therefore more appealing) emerging market currency, possibly appeal to the international market sooner than others.

As we have all felt so longingly during lockdown, our desire to connect with both nature AND our fellow human beings is strong and runs to the core of human nature. This need for connectedness will drive travel tourism once again. It will be back. They will be back.

In the meantime however, our step up (individual, business as well as government) to support those in need during this crisis further emphasises the connection between tourism and poverty alleviation as well as education and wildlife preservation for which our future visitors will feel further motivated in support of when considering travel to South Africa once again.

 

So get involved.

Do what you can to help in the meantime.

We can only get through this by helping one another.

 

Some worthwhile local causes to get involved with or support through donations at this time:

Food Parcel Schemes in Stanford:  https://www.facebook.com/Stanford-Village-Foundation-109780980691328/

The Foundation is a Public Benefit Organisation (Non-profit Company) with the aim to facilitate and coordinate projects and programmes that will benefit the entire Stanford community and ensure overarching sustainability

Contact: 028 341 0430

Stanford Rotary: https://www.facebook.com/groups/130813770283217/

Situated in the Overstrand area of the Western Cape, our small Club consists of 10 members and is active with Soup Kitchens, Swap Shops, Winter Warmth and Youth/Early Childhood Development Projects.

Contact: stanford@rotaryclub.org.za

Food4Thought: https://www.facebook.com/food4thoughtstanford/

Food 4 Thought Community Projects NPC, runs a successful
and well-loved Xhosa pre-school in Stanford, Western Cape, South Africa.

We are an early child development (ECD) school for children aged 3 to 6 years old.
Our language of tuition is IsiXhosa. We also encourage the use of English as a second language.
Our day starts at 7.00am and the children go home at 4.00pm.
We feed breakfast, lunch and snacks.
We provide safe transport to and from school.
We teach using a curriculum accredited by the South African government.

Contact: food4thoughtstanford@gmail.com

Creative Works: https://www.facebook.com/CreativeWorksSA/

Creative Works aims to promote a nurturing, safe and stimulating environment for children and young adults to explore their creative potential

Contact: regina@creativeskillsfactory.co.za

Children’s Book Network: https://www.facebook.com/ChildrensBook/

Children’s Book Network (CBN) was founded by Gçina Mhlophe, Lesley Beake & Sindiwe Magona. Our purpose is to bring books to children and children to books.

Contact: info@childrensbook.co.za

Animal Welfare: https://www.facebook.com/StanfordAnimalWelfareSociety/

SAWS aka Stanford Animal Welfare Society are a group of voluntary Stanford citizens that devote our time to save and help our unprivileged Stanford animals.

Contact: mailto:sawsstanford@gmail.com

Majestic Mountains and where to find them

Majestic Mountains –
to be explored by foot, bike, horse or boat!
#visitstanford

Mountains have always captivated and inspired the human spirits. There seems to be a powerful attraction, which stirs a desire to either explore and conquer its peaks, or merely rest and relax in its valleys and rivers.

Whichever appeals to you, there is a landscape of diverse flora and fauna waiting to be explored by foot, horseback, bike or 4×4. Stanford is the perfect base from which to explore these majestic structures and if you give us enough notice , we will gather the local food artisans and put together the most delicious and nutritious picnics and snack packs for you to take with,  we may even suggest some of our local wines for you to enjoy in the shade of the Kleinrivier mountains.

Hiking Trails
Hikers are spoilt for choice in this region, not only with the spectacular views and abundance of varying biomes, but you have your choice of anything from a gentle walk and picnic to a multi-day hike. Phillipskop Mountain Reserve offers a unique opportunity to access part of the Klein River Mountains. Visitors are welcome to hike anywhere on the reserve but they have established a number of hiking trails to help you in your exploration. You may also wish to explore Walker Bay Nature Reserve 17 km of rocky and sandy coastline which include the incredible cliff paths at De Kelders. See more on walks and hiking trails in our region.

Mountain Biking
As home to the Stanford MTB Classic stage event  we have so much to offer the avid Mountain Biker and the whole family! Start in Stanford and explore the many tracks through the fynbos and nature reserves.

Horse Trails
Explore our wonderful region on horseback, as many of the early explorers must have. African Horse Company offers 1-3 hours or multi–day horse trails and outrides. You will ride along kilometers of unspoiled beach, climb rugged mountain terrain, and ride through indigenous forest, cross private farms and vineyards and swim with your horse in dams filled with the purest mountain water. What a wonderful way to discover our region.

River Adventures
For some the mere luxury of gazing up from the valleys and rivers to take in the numerous rock formations is enough food for the soul. In Stanford we take full advantage of our Kleinivier and you can hire a Kayak from River Rat Boat Cruise & Kayak Hire and do some self-exploration.
The river is famous for its big variety of birdlife, breeding and nesting in the reeds on the banks of the river. Other wild life include some buck in a small reserve, otters feeding on crabs, terrapins and the odd puff adder swimming across the river.
Or simply pack a picnic ( you can stock up from our many food and wine artisans) and enjoy a leisurely cruise with Lady Stanford, or African Queen Cruises.

Read all about our Stanford River Festival here. A lovely account from Roger Duffet.

Spotted on Instagram.

Did you #VisitStanford recently and bragged a little on Instagram? Well we may just have spotted you!

To discover more of Stanford’s Secrets, pop into the Tourism Office in Queen Victoria Street, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

For weekly updates, make sure you sign up for the free What’s on compiled by Stanford Tourism every Thursday right here. That’s all for now, folks. And remember, if anyone asks where you got your news, tell them you heard it through the Grapevine!

Stanford River Festival 2019

One-hundred-and-six boats, one-hundred-and-thirty-something paddlers,
eight sitters, two standers, one swimmer and a dog!

The annual Stanford River Festival took place in ideal conditions on
Saturday 2nd March on the beautiful Klein Rivier. The event is a mix of
serious racing and not-so-serious fun! It offers something exciting for
all levels of paddlers including those who just love plonking along in a
boat with friends and family!

Line up at King Street for the start! A colourful spectacle of boats,
jokes, laughing insults and a small measure of anxiety. The serious
racers are at the front, strategically looking for the best way off the
line. Just behind a jostle of anxious youngsters looking to be in on the
action and at the back the fancy dress party! The starter calls and the
race is off – churning the still water into a tumble of waves out to
topple the unwary.

From Stanford the river carries the paddlers out toward the lagoon. The
turn for the 15km route is just on the edge of the lagoon where the
sleepy water loses itself in the shallows and the flamingos, in unison,
ignore the passing race. It takes about 36 minutes for the first
paddlers to reach the turn. At this point just over half of the 5km race
has finished. Joshua Loubser [U14] came storming through in 23 minutes
and 1 second on a Ski chased home by Emma Privett [U12] in a Guppy.
Third across the line was Daniel Burls [U16] in a K1. First dog across
the line, stylish bandanna ad all, was Gemma [U6] in a fine hand made
wooden kayak! Joshua, Emma, Daniel and Gemma are all from Stanford Canoe
Club.

The Wooden Boat Regatta at the The Stanford River Festival was a new
thing this year. Graceful, shining wooden hulls mingled with the dowdier
K1s and K2s bringing a touch of class to the river. Let’s hope we see
more of them next year! Local builder Neil Eberhard took the prize for
best presented wooden boat on display at the festival.

Meanwhile, with the 15km racers now racing back for the finish line the
first 10km paddlers were coming home. Rodger Duffett [M] was first back
in 54 minutes and 57 seconds. Racing to the finish, up-and-coming
paddlers Khanyisa Ngaxa [U14] and Sibongeleni Mzimba were second and
third. The first five places in the 10km were all Stanford paddlers with
fourth and fifth going to Nonelela Mqalekane [U14] and Samkele Mgengo
[U14] respectively! Go Team!

One hour, seven minutes and thirty five seconds after starting out Lance
King [S] from Milnerton Canoe club crossed the line to take first place
and the points for the Western Cape Canoe Union Presidents Trophy.
Second place went to Luke Stowman [S] from Paarl and third to Ernest van
Riet [V] from University of Stellenbosch. The first lady home was
Christina Geromont from Milnerton Canoe Club [U23] in 1h23m46s closely
followed by Amy Duffett [U14] from Stanford. Third lady in the open
category was Lindi-May Harmsen [V] from Milnerton.

Of the one-hundred-and-thrity-something paddlers about 35 paddled in the
under 18 category! Our friendly rivals from the Paarl Developmont club
made the journey from their home river – the Berg River – to join us on
the Klein Rivier. In the Boys Junior class Matthew Privett [U16],
Stanford, took line honours in 1h12m53s. Bevan Duffett [U18], Stanford,
was second across the line and Eugon Williams [U16] from Paarl was
third. The Girls race was a Stanford clean sweep with Amy Duffett [U14]
first and Neriyah Dill [U14] second.

Let’s not forget to count the Guppies! A special sprint race over 2km
was held for the Guppies aged 8 to 12. Tia Hector from Paarl took this
one from Emma Privett [Stanford]. The girls led the way in this one with
Lucian from Paarl coming third! Well done to Jahkahyda [Paarl], Sibusiso
[Stanford], Whitney and AJ [Paarl] and Joshua, Boaz and Tristan from
Stanford!

And so, another river festival came and went! It was such a pleasure to
enjoy this very special place with all who came! A big thank-you to all
who worked to make it happen especially for the support of the Grootbos
Foundation and Stanford Tourism! Funds raised at the event go toward
supporting the Stanford Canoe Club Development Academy.

 

Author: Rodger Duffett

Images: Wilien van Zyl

 

 

 

Keeping up with the Stanfordians

Have you noticed how it never rains, and then it pours? The beautiful drenched Market Square in Stanford is testament to how much it has been raining in Stanford, and the puddles and deep cool tussocks of grass fill us with childish glee. The wild sprouting mushrooms push their way towards the sunlight 3 days after the rains so keep your eyes peeled for those illusive mushroom foragers who are trying not to make eye contact and give away their hunting ground secrets.

And another thing that fills us with glee is the up-and-coming weekend which is about to sweep us off our feet. Are you ready for it? This is how we plan to fit it all in and you are invited to catch us if you can…

WEDNESDAY

Aerobics Revival in Stanford. See you there in lycra as the village meets in the Community Hall from 18:00 – 19:00. R10 per person is practically still 80s rates!

THURSDAY

Stanford Full Moon Tree Walk

Join our monthly Wandelpad Stroll and learn how to join the heritage Committee’s Significant Tree Survey. Afterwards…sherry!

FRIDAY

Take a deep breath, light a fire and drink some local wine. We are going to need our energy for tomorrow…

SATURDAY

First thing’s first, don a hat for Haturday and post a selfie using the hashtags #Haturday #Visitstanford to stand a chance to win a prize.

Then it is time to browse through the treasures on display at the Stanford Junktique Market in the Tourism Courtyard, 09:00 – 12:00. Breeze a little further down Queen Victoria Street to fill your basket with weekend foodie treats at the Saturday Morning Market on the stoep of the Stanford Hotel, also 09:00 – 12:00.

 

There is also time to take a slow drive on the Papiesvlei Road to the Open Day at Eikenhof Orchid Nursery. It will take you just over 10 minutes to drive there, but it will be oh-so-worthwhile to see the orchids and cymbidiums in full bloom, and for sale at special prices.

And then, pack a jersey for Hops at the Hills, a celebration of local craft beers at Stanford Wine Estate. This afternoon event is full of live music, fun for the kids, good food and beer, and usually sees people dancing under a rainbow, alongside a roaring bonfire. Make no mistake, Hops at the Hills is full-on fun.

SUNDAY

This day is for winding down. Make it about good food at one of Stanford’s restaurants, or good clean air as you walk off the ultimate weekend on one of the walking trails inside, or outside the village. Do the self-guided heritage walk around the town with a map available from the Tourism Office, and drop in at the shops open along the main street.

Phew, what a great week!

*Make sure you read our weekly ‘What’s on’ every Thursday for all events in and around Stanford. Ask to join our mailing list by emailing ask@stanfordinfo.co.za

Words: Phil Murray

Herfsfees, 6-7 April 2018

Vibrating with autumn colours

This was the first year that a small vibrant group of like-minded people launched the Stanford Herfsfees, a new arts festival for Stanford with the goal of reaching deep into our community and uplifting all with art, music and creativity. The line-up was generous, starting with a week-long arts and crafts workshop run by local NPO, Creative Skills Factory, which climaxed at the parade to launch Herfsfees on the  Friday evening. The spirit and exuberance of the minstrels was intoxicating as people joined in the revelry of music and dance, and followed the Baruch performers through the village. Children wore the outfits and masks that they had had been making all week.

The Baruch Entertainers were invited to Herfsfees to help launch the Friday evening carnival to rounds of applause. Villagers and children joined in the parade as they danced, jived, drummed, trumpeted and entertained their way from the Community Centre to the NGKerk garden, homebase of the newest Arts Festival in Stanford. The Herfsfees has its heart deeply rooted in the Stanford community, and plans to grow the annual Herfsfees event with an ongoing community arts programme that is run year-round in tandem with Creative Skills Factory.

Not only will the ongoing arts programme focus on Stanford children, and keep them educated, exposed to the arts, entertained and off the streets, it also hopes to negotiate a mentorship of a minstrel band in Stanford with the Baruch Entertainers, Carnival Champions of the Cape Town Carnival 2018. Baruch is committed to improving the social situation in communities through music tutoring and workshops, and organizers of the Herfsfees are already discussing ongoing collaboration between Stanford and Baruch.

Herfsfees also included a food market at the NGKerk, and a band line-up to die for! Tribal Echo stole the hearts all the audience on the Friday Night with their funky local flavour and cool drums, trombone and energy, while Mr Cat and the Jakkal had everyone dancing. Ibuyambo, Hatchetman, the Nick Turner Band, Dax Butler and the Hearts of Darkness, Taleswapper, The Time Flies and Gert Vlok Nel, along with DJChina had the village dancing to their beat. Various venues hosted different bands, and buskers kept the day time visitors entertained. Nick Turner, Tribal Echo and Ibuyambo offered free workshops on the Saturday – such generosity of intention and sharing of the delights in the arts made Stanford a warm and welcoming festival venue.

Photograph: Taylum Meyer

Thank you to the organizers who poured their hearts into this event, to the venues who hosted musicians, to the businesses and individuals who invested in earlybird tickets, to the Cape Whale Coast office of the Overstrand Municipality who contributed towards the Creative Works craft workshops, those who donated supplies, to the musicians and artists, and to all those who bought tickets and supported this event. Well done Herfsfees 2018! We can’t wait to see what Herfsfees 2019 will bring.

Photograph: Lloyd Koppel

Words by Phil Murray

The Stanford River Festival 2018 – plenty of water in the Klein River

If you missed it last year, you’ll be happy to know that the Stanford River Festival is back, hosted in the beautiful village of Stanford by the Grootbos Foundation and the Stanford Canoe Club. The Klein River, while little, is full of water and ready to offer cool respite to our friends and family from the drier regions of the Western Cape. Come on down to the riverfront at the bottom of King Street from 16 – 18 March and join in the paddling fun.

The weekend will kick off with a cruise on the Friday at 17:00 to ‘blow out the cobwebs’ in preparation for the main action on the Saturday. Saturday offers events of 5km, 10km, 15km and guppy (juniors) races, open to all– SUPs, K1s, K2s, K3s, sea kayaks, Indian canoes, surf skis and guppies. Registration starts at 07:30 at the bottom of King Street.

2017 Stanford River Festival

The program includes a WCCU President’s Trophy event, in which a number of current and former Springbok canoeists take part and special categories for Surf Ski and SUP participants have been accommodated for.

2017 Stanford River Festival

The event will be supported by a selection of food stalls, a face painting stall to keep children entertained and a local craft beer and wine tent showcasing the local wines and beers of the region. A selection of covetable raffle prizes will be on offer. Be sure to enter for your chance to win. The support market offers plenty of fun, food and music for spectators so slap on some sun-cream, and come and lounge on the lush lawn of the Wandelpad while you cheer in the paddlers.

2017 Stanford River Festival

All proceeds of the event support the ‘Rock the Boat’ Stanford Canoe Development Academy which supports local children accessing the sport of canoeing. This programme has grown to include training three times a week and access to regional regattas.  Watch for the academy juniors participating in the races – you should recognize them by their turquoise T-shirts!

We look forward to seeing you all on the picturesque banks of the Klein River of the Stanford Village!

For further information, contact: Wilien Van Zyl, Stanford Canoeing Academy, Email: vanzylwilien@gmail.com

Or follow the event on Facebook here

Stanford Food Heroes in partnership with FoodforUs

The Stanford Food Heroes is a collective of Stanford growers and producers who live and work in the area surrounding Stanford. You can inhale the scent of their herbs and aroma of their buttery bakes, roll their tomatoes and lemons around in your hands and breath in the spices of their charcuterie at the weekly Wednesday Morning Farmers’ Market at Graze, and the Saturday Morning Market on the Stanford Hotel stoep. Besides these markets, some heroes supply or run their own restaurants and delis. Their identity is that they hold home-grown, local produce dear and believe in keeping the supply chain local and lekker. They believe that the best things in life take time.

In 2017, a small group of ideas people identified the Stanford Food Heroes and the increasingly foodie identity of Stanford, and approached them to ask if they were interested in being a part of a new phone application trial aimed at marketing fresh surplus to the closest market, and reducing food loss. What a great idea for a communications app to team up with a group of growers and producers – the Stanford Food Heroes could really sink their teeth into this partnership.

The new FoodforUs app is a United Nations-funded application that links local growers and buyers. It was designed to ensure that edible and nutritious food is not wasted at farm level but instead fulfils its primary purpose of feeding people. It will do this by linking local groups of growers (farmers at all scales) and buyers (feeding schemes, early childhood development centres, restaurants, guesthouses and individuals) through a convenient mobile app. The app will provide an overview and images of what is available from each grower and enables growers and buyers to communicate on payment and delivery methods.

Food is wasted at farm levels for a variety of reasons. Retailers sometimes cancel orders at the last-minute leaving farmers unable to find appropriate markets for their produce in time, or farmers can produce a surplus that they have not planned for in terms of marketing and sale. The FoodforUs app provides farmers with immediate access to a group of local buyers.

The app is available on the Google and iTunes play stores. Once registered, participants will be sent a password that they use to log into the app to view the produce available. This research trial is being conducted in Stanford, Worcester and two pilot sites in the Eastern Cape. Once the initial phase is complete, users’ feedback will be incorporated into a revision of the app’s features and the platform will be released to a wider audience.

Follow the project on Facebook @foodforusza or contact the team directly on info@foodforus.co.za.

FoodforUs looks forward to working with Stanford’s innovative food networks to trial the app that helps to reduce food waste by linking local growers and buyers. More information can be found on the project at www.foodforus.co.za.

*For more on the Stanford Food Heroes, click here

Words by Phil Murray and Stephanie Swanepoel

Quality Rural Education in Stanford

One would agree that Stanford is one of the most beautiful small towns in the Western Cape. It is also the centre of a diverse farming community that is home to a number of communities.  Unfortunately these communities face a host of obstacles including poverty, lack of transport, substance abuse as well as the lack of quality education.  All too often, rural schools focus on quantity to keep their heads above water, rather than quality.

Koos and Joanie Smith, founders of the Fynbos Community Foundation

That is where our story starts. Koos Smith started a Fynbos export business on Langverwacht farm on the Papiesvlei/Elim road in 1991.  From here, Langverwacht Fynbos grew to the successful business it is today with its head office in the industrial area of Stanford. Soon Koos saw the desperate need of the communities he worked with and there the dream of a rural school with small classes and individual attention was born.

The Fynbos Community Foundation (FCF) was officially registered as an NPO in November 2012. The FCF has developed and implemented the Rural Education SA (RESA) program, to address the educational, social and vocational needs of rural children in South Africa. The ultimate goal is to equip our children to become self-sufficient, well rounded individuals.

Fynbos Career School students learning how to arrange Fynbos centrepieces

The program has successfully been piloted in three schools namely Fynbos Academy and Career school on Langverwacht Farm, Hoopland Academy in the industrial area and Blouvlei Academy and Career School outside Wellington. The schools are all operated by RESA and Joanie, Koos’ wife and experienced educator, visits all three sites every week to provide academic support.

Thriving, vibrant, positive learning environments have been created and will continue to grow from strength to strength. Many lives have been impacted positively as the RESA schools provide a beacon of hope in struggling communities.

In 2017 FCF established two Career Schools for young people between the ages of 14 and 18 years of age where the focus is on both academic and practical development. This is a 4 year course where learners are enabled to qualify in preparation for entering the employment market, or equipped to engage in entrepreneurial activity.

Grade R learner, Marihano Jacobs, enjoying his lunch of spaghetti bolognese

The RESA programme caters for transport with 4 busses to and from school, provides nutritious breakfast and lunch and most importantly, provides rich and individualised educational, cultural and sporting instruction and assistance, in the lives of our children.

If you have time to spare and a willing heart to serve then please do get in touch with us as we would love to hear from you. You can find our head office in Centro Jardim next to Spar in Victoria Street. Pop in for a quick hello or book a visit to one or more of our schools.

Alternatively, email Elizabeth at elizabeth@ruraleducationsa.com