Brave Hearts

Cape Town and Joburg may dominate SA's food limelight, but we say it's time for Durbs, with its rich heritage, to take its rightful place alongside them. Meet four entrepreneurs who are leading the way (and sharing their recipes)

- By Jess Spiro

THE FARMER

RICHARD HAIGH, ENALENI FARM

Richard started his small but mighty agro-ecological farm just outside Durban with humble intentions. A horticulturalist by training, he left Australia to work in permaculture training across southern Africa, where he was exposed to the joys of local, hearty cooking. “My work took me into rural areas where, on occasion, I would be given simple but incredible meals,” he says. When he eventually left the NGO sector, he wanted to find a small-scale homestead farm. “A place where I could plant a variety of food, save seed, and safeguard and bring to the fore the abundant diversity of heritage animals, many of which are marginalised by big agriculture. My idea was a farm with a tremendous heartbeat, a hub, with lots of different breeds of animals and poultry complementing food production areas and the link between all three – the animals, food gardens, and home.” Now, Enaleni is a self-sufficient farm that’s home to indigenous and heritage animals, plants and crops, and Richard also produces the likes of chutneys, cordials, jams, preserves and cheeses. Visitors are welcomed to open days and courses, and to enjoy an on-farm eating experience that displays the full circle of life. “You can visit the animals, which include heritage turkeys, old-fashioned chickens, ducks, Zulu sheep, goats, Kolbroek pigs, Jersey and Nguni cattle.” In a nutshell, Enaleni sets out to produce food in a way that visitors can witness, taste and celebrate our enormous food diversity and, of course, the histories and stories of food.