go! Platteland Magazine - Spring 2020

In this issue

In this issue of go! Platteland: Is cannabis a cure-all? - Make your own cannabis oil, honey with a buzz; Take a walk! - It's good for you; Tesselaarsdal - Faith, hope and love in the Overberg; Plastics - Simpler labels for effective recycling; Photo Essay - Rooibos - From the Cederberg to your teacup; Horses - Companions & healers (and a huge responsibility) and Baby Marrows - Bland and boring? Think again!

Oh, Romantic, Rundown Platteland?

You are romanticising the platteland. This is a complaint we sometimes hear when readers return from a weekend getaway at a“once well-maintained and spotless” town, which is now “shockingly dirty and neglected”. But, as Johan van Zyl heard at this year’sWoordfees in Stellenbosch, decay occurs everywhere in the world – and the“romantic” picture painted in glossy magazines is not so much a problem as it is a solution.

5 mins

Tesselaarsdal - The Valley Of Faith, Hope & Love

Tesselaarsdal is an Overberg village that doesn’t as much as feature on some GPS apps, and you won't find it in the latest road atlas. If you do sniff it out – in the mountains between Caledon and Hermanus – you’ll be bowled over by the scenic beauty and the strong sense of community.

10+ mins

The Travelling Willow

Her love of architecture, history, travel and for her mother’s treasured BlueWillow collection inspired Sarah-Jane Jordaan, a young architect and illustrator from De Doorns, to use her pen to take this much-loved tree on a trip around the world.

6 mins

Home Brew From The Cederberg To Your Teacup

About 12000 tonnes of rooibos tea is exported worldwide each year, and it all comes from a small region in the Cederberg. Evan Naudé visited a farm near Clanwilliam to learn about the process, from stalks under the scythe to the teabag in your cup.

7 mins

The Art Of Living

Artists Tamar Mason and Mark Attwood moved their studio from Johannesburg to the Lowveld in 2002. Step by step, they set up a sustainable lifestyle, and proved to naysayers that the move was not “financial suicide”.

10 mins

Step By Step To Good Health

For centuries, writers, composers, philosophers and ordinary people have harnessed the healing power of walking to nourish body and soul. It’s free medicine available to everyone – all you have to do is start… and continue, every single day. One foot in front of the other.

10+ mins

Horse sense

Man and horse have been sharing a special bond for more than 5000 years, be it on farmlands, on battlefields, on the road or in the sports arena. Today, some of these fine animals even play an important role in therapy programmes. But keeping horses is not a decision to be taken lightly. Here’s what you need to know first.

10 mins

The marrow of life

Few other crops can be cooked in so many different ways and at so many stages – from flower to finger-sized to monster-sized – as baby marrows.

3 mins

A Dog's Life

What would a garden or cosy living room be without a dog – whether it works for its food or simply keeps its owner company? Artist and illustrator Piet Grobler* shares the insights he has gained over the years of living in South Africa, England and now Portugal.

5 mins

Snowdrops And Shelter

Amid the isolation of the national lockdown and unprecedented upheaval in the magazine industry, there is one place that helps keep celebrated media doyenne Jane Raphaely sane in our changing world…

1 min

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go! Platteland Magazine Description:

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.