Schoonbee Landgoed is committed to improving the dignity of the local Loskop community through various economic initiatives. This philosophy began with their founder, Gert Schoonbee.
During the 1950s, he organised the local farmers into study groups to tackle the shortcomings preventing the farmers in the Loskop Valley from prospering. In the 1960s, his vision assisted with the extension of the Loskop Dam wall which minimised the full impact of the droughts in 1985 and 2016.
Building on their commitment over the past 50 years, Schoonbee Landgoed drives several interesting commercial community initiatives. Peace Table Grapes is an established skill transfer partnership with the first black female-owned producers of table grapes. Project Change is a large-scale shared value initiative focused on the primary production of table grapes and citrus while providing job opportunities, primary health care and supporting education.
Made in the Loskop Valley
Schoonbee Landgoed believes in inspiring the people in our communities and building a remarkable nation by transforming adversities into hope, problems into opportunities and trials into triumph. Making a difference in society and local communities as a whole is integral to their business philosophy.
Their latest initiative aims to support and promote our local communities by growing the offerings on their online store through carefully curated products made in the Loskop Valley. From fresh fruit to natural living lifestyle products, they are proud to share the abundance of Loskop Valley with the rest of South Africa.
Made with love, infused with joy
Schoonbee Landgoed’s first “Made in the Loskop Valley” collaboration was with Larissa Kamstra who developed their popular Lamonne Sugar Body Scrub. Larissa Kamstra is a young entrepreneur who shares her family’s love for natural, healthy products that are handmade with loving care.
True to her entrepreneurial spirit, Kamstra made use of all resources available to her and gained access to the Schoonbee Landgoed Online shop as her exclusive channel to market for Lamonne products. Taking hands with Schoonbee Landgoed, Kamstra is able to develop the Lamonne product range fully for the online shop to include an array of products that feature lemons from the Schoonbee farm and honey from the Schoonbee beekeeper.
In this way, Kamstra is able to promote job creation and stimulate the economy in the Loskop Valley – the main objective of the Schoonbee Landgoed Online shop.
Learn more about Kamstra and Lamonne or browse the Lamonne Lifestyle Product Range.
Living goodness in a bottle
Their kombucha is lovingly handcrafted in small batches by Annelise van der Linden of Divine Wellness in the Loskop Valley. Van der Linden is a business owner and has a passion for healthy living and natural well-being. She discovered the benefits of Kombucha from her sister in Ireland who struggled with an autoimmune disease and poor metabolism from gluten sensitivity.
Van der Linden prepares their bespoke range of Craft Kombucha exclusively for Schoonbee Landgoed using authentic methods from mineral water and black tea. Made with care in glass vats to capture the characteristic light fizz and tangy taste, the beverage is infused with sun-kissed mandarins, fresh blueberries or pomegranate and a dash of lemon from their farm.
Discover the benefits of kombucha and explore our kombucha range, including their new Kombucha Vinegar.
Time-honoured and traditional
Boerseep is a time-honoured soap that has a rich history and origins dating back hundreds of years. The traditional recipe and versatile soap have been treasured throughout generations. Boerseep is naturally a biodegradable and eco-friendly product. This pure and versatile soap contains no harmful additives and is greywater safe. Boerseep boasts great conditioning and whitening properties and is suitable for all types of skin and general cleaning.
Schoonbee Landgoed’s Boerseep is exclusively handcrafted by Corne Botha from VELD Boerseep. Botha uses the same pot that has been used to make boerseep on the family farm in the neighbouring mountains for four generations. Botha is a natural entrepreneur, and her mission is to make environment-friendly, healthy soap available to as many people as possible. Her belief is that we can make a difference in our health if we all try to use less chemicals and more natural products.
Read about Botha and how our boerseep is made or visit their online shop to explore their range of boerseep products.
Our local butcher
Vleismark started as a little shop on the Schoonbee Landgoed farm in the late 1970s. Their freshly hand-cut, flavourful meat and authentic recipes gained much popularity locally, leading to their expansion and move to bigger facilities in the small agricultural town of Groblersdal.
Hans Pretorius, Vleismark’s experienced block man, has been practising his trade for 17 years. Pretorius is the hands behind every premium cut of meat prepared for the Our Local Butcher range.
Crisp, colourful citrus slices
With the abundance of export-grade citrus grown on the farm, combined with the logistic constraints of international trade after the Covid pandemic, Schoonbee Landgoed began experimenting with dehydrating citrus fruit as a way to mitigate the risk of food waste.
The team was very excited by results of our research and product development, and they offer their Premium Dehydrated Citrus Slices from their online shop in beautiful, sustainably packaged glass jars.
Pure, unprocessed oney
Schoonbee Landgoed made a conscious decision to have resident bees on our farm in Groblersdal to remind all the people who work and stay on the farm of the sensitive nature of the environment. Even though they have multiple international accreditations that govern the way in which they function within our environment, they took the challenge to have resident bees as nature’s testimony of how well they are performing in this.
Their resident beekeeper, Dirk, is one of their production managers during the day, applying his excellent interpersonal and leadership skills to looking after the hundreds of people harvesting crops during the citrus and grape seasons. His passion for beekeeping was instilled by his father and his passion for making honey is inspiring.
Read about A Year in the Life of Our Beekeeper to learn about the highs and lows they faced to produce pure, raw, non-irradiated and unprocessed honey.
Rich, buttery, locally sourced pecan nuts
Schoonbee Landgoed’s Pecan Nut Halves are produced on local soil in Groblersdal, Limpopo by Willem van der Merwe from the farm Origin. These Pecan Nuts are cultivated from a very specific cultivar that is in high demand internationally for its eating quality and size.
Van der Merwe is an entrepreneur by nature and actively engages in the future development of pecan nut production in the Loskop Valley. Van der Merwe also supports other entrepreneurial ventures, making the partnership with the Schoonbee Landgoed online shop an ideal fit. Schoonbee Landgoed is proud to partner with Origin Farms to bring these export-grade Pecan Nuts from the Loskop Valley direct to consumers, nationwide.
Read more about their nutrient-rich pecan nuts. These same pecan nuts are used to make their truly unique Pecan Nut Butter.
Fabulous fresh fruit
The abundance of the lush Loskop Valley is apparent in the wide variety of excellent fruit grown by local farmers. Sourcing local in-season fresh fruit is not only in line with their vision for our “Made in the Loskop Valley” initiative but is an essential and responsible approach for consumers and businesses who care about the impact they have on the environment.
Their sweet, smooth Cape Gold Kiwis are produced by Malan Terblanche Boerdery. Their juicy, jammy export-grade Evita Figs are produced by KIPOK Boerdery. Their blueberries are also locally sourced from the Loskop Valley.
Decadent and Delicious
Schoonbee Landgoed’s Luxury Fruit Loaf was developed from a time-tested recipe in collaboration with Loskop Valley culinary pioneer, Herman from Manna For You. Rich in flavour, this spiced fruitcake is packed with dates, nuts, and glazed cherries and perfumed with luxurious pot still brandy.
Schoonbee Landgoed has partnered with local business, Manna For You, to offer the local community a convenient collection point for their online shop.
- This article was first published on Schoonbee Landgoed.
ALSO READ: Agripreneur: Kazie goes from book to beekeeper
Get the Mzansi Flavour newsletter: A serving of crave-able recipes and handy lifestyle tips.
