Getting Down To Business With Geese Farming

Anton and Sharon Kock’s Ember Down goose down and feather business has been built on ethical farming practices, attention to detail and meticulous management.

- Annelie Coleman

About 12 years ago, Anton and Sharon Kock resigned from their jobs in the banking sector and bought the farm Schoonzicht, near Ficksburg in the Eastern Free State.

“We wanted to escape the rat race,” admits Anton.

But their life in the country has been no idle affair. In the intervening years they have built up a successful goose down and feather production business that has become the economic backbone of the farm.

“From the outset, our mission was to add as much value as possible, and not allow our primary product to leave the farm gate without increasing its worth. And that’s how Ember Down came about.”

Sharon, who grew up on a dairy farm in the Heidelberg district, credits her grandmother with the idea of their business. ‘Granny Lloyd’, as she was known, made duvets and pillows from goose down and feathers. Drawing on this background, and with an interest in geese as a driving force, Sharon started Ember Down shortly after she and Anton settled on the farm.

ROUNDING UP THE FLOCK

The down is the layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers, and very young birds are clad only in down, explains Sharon. It is an exceptional thermal insulator and padding material, used in products such as jackets, bedding, pillows and sleeping bags.

The Kocks only use pure down and down feathers, and never cut up the larger feathers to bulk out their products.

They started by buying all the geese they could lay their hands on within a radius of about 400km around Ficksburg, a task that saw Anton traversing the Free State and North West.

“We weren’t picky, and bought virtually all the birds we could get. We use both white and grey down, but don’t mix the two colours,” says Anton.