Stellenbosch Visio Spring 2024 Issue

As the colours of spring begin to bloom, editor Francé Beyers invites readers to embrace the season of renewal with the Stellenbosch Visio Spring 2024 issue.

Headed for the future

In Stellenbosch it often happens completely out of the blue – the past taps you on the shoulder and off goes your mind to an enchanting corner of history. Only to be lured back by glimpses of a thrilling future.

Stellenbosch offers a mesmerising warp of time and tide, the transient and the enduring, the here-and-now and the infinite. And this issue of Stellenbosch Visio testifies to that.

We visit venerated wine estates harking back hundreds of years, and step into a house that encapsulates eco-awareness and futuristic thinking in design (p. 72). On the ancient plains of the Camdeboo, at Samara, visionaries Mark and Sarah Tompkins have brought a dream alive: to create a game sanctuary and a model of sustainable eco-tourism while offering contemporary Karoo-style hospitality to guests (p. 92).

Closer to home, Emile Joubert takes us to vineyards where farmers, as WWF’s Conservation champions, are conserving the sensitive ecology of the Winelands with a spirit of innovation, making South Africa’s wine industry one of the most conservation-conscious in the world (p. 86).

The stunning success story of South Africa’s exhibition at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, told with such verve by Leon Kluge in his first contribution to Stellenbosch Visio, highlights the value of sustained stewardship of our natural heritage. We hope to feature many more contributions by Leon in upcoming issues (p. 112).

Nothing happens without people who are willing to transcend boundaries – also that of gender and race – and we are blessed with an abundance of them in Stellenbosch. On Weltevreden 1692 Imke Bezuidenhout hosts events that bring together inspirational women to share their stories (p. 76), and on Compagniesdrift Ilse Ruthford is a shining example of what empowerment means, as are Denise Stubbs at Thokozani Wines and Frank Bongoza at Wijnhuis Restaurant (pp. 100–103).

Creative thinking is at the core of life in Stellenbosch and it’s time again for the annual public art exhibition of the Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust (SOST). Locals and visitors all enjoy these striking outdoor artworks placed in the historic town centre. The theme of the current exhibition is (Un)Earthed – Exploring contemporary ceramic art in South Africa and the selected pieces will be exhibited in the Voorgelegen Museum in Dorp Street, while photographic images of them will be shown on eight large-format frames strategically placed around central Stellenbosch. Read more about this magnificent initiative on p. 28.

Die jaar sal ook nie dieselfde wees sonder die Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees nie, waarvoor ons nou reeds ons vere begin regskud om hierdie lente te bruis en te blom. Kry sommer vroegtydig ’n voorsmakie van die fees (p. 104).

Terwyl ons die lente-uitgawe van Stellenbosch Visio gereed gemaak, het my 93-jarige moeder ’n naweek by ons deurgebring. Teen die agtergrond van tyd en getye, ook in ons menselewens, het ek opnuut besef watter voorreg ons het om tyd saam met ons bejaarde ouers te kan deurbring, en terselfdertyd ons kleinkinders te sien grootword.

Ons moet mekaar daaraan bly herinner hoe belangrik dit is om verder as die horison te kyk en seker te maak ons omgewing bly geskik vir ons kleinkinders en húl kleinkinders.

Met al die optimisme en nuwe energie wat ek aan die begin van hierdie lente beleef, hoop ek dat ons die wêreld ’n beter plek sal kan laat vir ons nageslagte.