![The art of small talk](https://cdn.magzter.com/1376649439/1685010220/articles/NofIhE4X31685020020940/THE-ART-OF-SMALL-TALK.jpg)
I spent my childhood in a small and seemingly insignificant town in the middle of nowhere. But years of city living shrouded easy interaction with my fellow human beings in a stubborn layer of dust. Days, often weeks, may pass without a challenge to my primal skills of communication. I convince myself that no-one is interested in anything I may have to say anyway. Anybody who crosses my path can be sidestepped with a quick smile. Then we each carry on in our own direction.
This pattern of behaviour is familiar and safe. A sudden eruption of chatter – about the weather, personal health or relationship woes – is sure to send me straight to my therapist. Politics or the dismal state of the economy may necessitate even more drastic, possibly chemical, intervention.
In the city I compartmentalise my life in safe and comfortable units. Home/travel/work. I harbour the sweet expectation to be left in peace. I select the media I like to peruse, have my coffee in the cosy company of my own thoughts, and drive to work. My car is my personal dominion. I slip on some shades, switch to Audible and navigate the morning traffic like a video game.
I survive.
I am comfortable with navigating the wilderness at work without having to stumble into the realm of real conversation. The guy from the office next to mine may poke his head around my door and say something like: “How about those WSCIs for the past quarter?”
“Almost as reassuring as our SMDs,” I am likely to reply. “At least in comparison with last year’s relevant LMPs.” He will grin smugly and, fortified by the complicity of encoded information, proceed on his way knowing that the universe is safe.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Winter 2023 من go! Platteland.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Winter 2023 من go! Platteland.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
![The art of small talk](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4232/1323439/NofIhE4X31685020020940/THE-ART-OF-SMALL-TALK.jpg)
The art of small talk
In the city, a glib smile suffices when it comes to interaction with any stranger that crosses her path. Yet a visit to Struisbaai taught Elizabeth Wasserman that small talk is no small matter
![From food scraps to compost in a jiffy: We test the iCompost](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4232/1323439/fmcxr5WA61685019212210/FROM-FOOD-SCRAPS-TO-COMPOST-IN-A-JIFFY-WE-TEST-THE-ICOMPOST.jpg)
From food scraps to compost in a jiffy: We test the iCompost
If turning kitchen waste into compost could be done at the touch of a button, more people would take it up, and much less waste would end up in landfills. That’s what Himkaar Singh, the man behind the innovative iCompost, believes. Platteland was keen to put this innovative appliance to the test
![Find wisdom in the forest: It all starts with soil](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4232/1323439/AhkOldBi81685018129537/FIND-WISDOM-IN-THE-FOREST-IT-ALL-STARTS-WITH-SOIL.jpg)
Find wisdom in the forest: It all starts with soil
A tree is an investment in any garden, even though patience is required to pluck the (figurative) fruit. When you plant several trees together to create your own forest, the reward is much greater. They offer shade, they support life… and they improve your soil. We spent time reflecting in our white karee“forest”– and learnt a lot
![Ohrigstad's tiny big farmer](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4232/1323439/t-lxUhC9N1685017434799/OHRIGSTADS-TINY-BIG-FARMER.jpg)
Ohrigstad's tiny big farmer
Agriculture courses through the veins of the Els family, who have been farming in the Ohrigstad valley in Limpopo since the 1930s. And they are getting younger and younger: Grandfather Jan Els was 36 when he set out, father Dewald 27… and littleWaldo got behind the wheel of massive machines at the age of 6!
![The head hen who lays the golden eggs](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4232/1323439/S7VvhMaV21685016700052/THE-HEAD-HEN-WHO-LAYS-THE-GOLDEN-EGGS.jpg)
The head hen who lays the golden eggs
The Country Chic is a delightful specialty store in the Swartland where small farmer and entrepreneur Suzanne Smit sells the organic free-range chicken eggs and poultry meat she produces – straight from her farm to the shelves of her own store
![On mountains and moments](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4232/1323439/nI_Ls_0H-1685014906128/ON-MOUNTAINS-AND-MOMENTS.jpg)
On mountains and moments
On a trip in the southern Drakensberg, a torrential downpour and a field of prickly thistles got acclaimed photographer Obie Oberholzer thinking about the power of perspective
![Ballad of the butter farmer](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4232/1323439/xcNIYbHyH1685012159068/BALLAD-OF-THE-BUTTER-FARMER.jpg)
Ballad of the butter farmer
High up in the Italian Alps, Maria van Zyl learnt to make the tastiest butter in South Africa. Then she started a clever “subscription farming business” delivering dairy products to households in the Cape on a weekly basis, which is how she could afford to buy the first five cows for her micro-dairy. Meet the (bio)dynamic small-scale farmer with big plans
![Spring on a stick](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4232/1038674/70D2rleVc1663057167877/SPRING-ON-A-STICK.jpg)
Spring on a stick
Expand your braai repertoire by serving a side dish of flavourful spring-vegetable kebabs cooked to perfection over the coals.
![A puzzle of nostalgia](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4232/1038674/KBlkxFmdv1663056761198/A-PUZZLE-OF-NOSTALGIA.jpg)
A puzzle of nostalgia
Ride a fat bike through the town where you grew up - an abiding landmark in your life - and behold the picture that reveals itself.
![Let's braai!](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4232/1038674/r2Nc1m6dZ1663055158831/LETS-BRAAI.jpg)
Let's braai!
Celebrate Heritage Day on 24 September with this braai menu, which Platteland put together from Martelize Brink's recently published second cookbook, Oor die Kole.