Sappie Michillies, a 71-year old council worker from Joubertina in the Langkloof Valley, had to pinch himself when he recently visited the old church at Joubertina in the Langkloof, one of South Africa's premier fruit growing regions, were he was baptised and married, and where his children went to school.
Sappie has fond memories of OUKAS, a historical church which was built nearly one hundred years ago and which was destroyed by a devastating fire that hit the region in 2008. The old building has now been restored to its former glory and has been handed back to the community in what one of South Africa's well-known church leaders, the Reverend Lucas Plaatjie, described as one of the best Christmas gifts ever to the region.
Father Christmas, in this case, is South Africa's leading fruit producer and exporter, the Dutoit Group, which five years ago expanded its fruit growing activities to the Langkloof where it today owns a number of estates. 'This is a wonderful gift at this time of the year and we are grateful that the Dutoit Group is leading the way to put something back into the community,' says Rev Plaatjie, who officiated at the unveiling of the newly restored building.
The gift of the restored OUKAS church building has particular relevance for Joubertina, the scene of the senseless killing of an 11-year old girl by her own friends on a farm near the town shocked the world. Since then the community has been hard at work to address the issues that led to this tragic incident.
The efforts to rebuild the society has been highlighted by the restoration of the old church which will be used as religious and social and skills training center.
Gys du Toit, Managing Director Production at Dutoit Group, says the group is committed to help build the social and economic welfare of the people of the Langkloof: 'Since starting our activities here, we have become acutely aware of the need to contribute to opportunities for advancement in the region,' he explains. 'We would like to use the religious and moral heritage which was previously established in OUKAS to launch a community development and skills transfer initiative which will bring new hope for the future.'
Mr Du Toit says giving OUKAS back to the community signals the fact that the local farming community has confidence in the future of the Langkloof, which lies some 800km to the east of Cape Town.
'We are grateful that farming conditions have improved after the floods and drought of the past few years,' he says. 'If all goes well the Langkloof will have a good crop this year after some years of drought. It is important that everyone in our community shares in the belief that there is a better future for all of us and make use of the opportunities which are created at OUKAS.'
The Dutoit Group has, meanwhile, increased its footprint in the Langkloof by acquiring the farms of the J Stewart Group, which lies in the centre of the valley. Since buying its first farms six years ago, Dutoit has been involved with upgrading packing facilities and has built a new state of the art pack house at Joubertina.
'The Langkloof has extended our product portfolio and we have very interesting climatic conditions which allows us to offer different tastes and quality to our customers,' says Mr Du Toit.
The Group's main operations are located in the Western Cape, with a number of estates located from the Ceres region to Malmesbury along the west coast. It produces around 15m units of fruit and vegetables annually.
