“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. Visitors are welcomed to open days and courses, and to enjoy an on-farm eating experience that displays the full circle of life. On Saturday, I joined the local Slow Food gathering at Enaleni Farm outside. Chair umpire Richard Haigh is hoping to add a third medal to his collection, having presided over the mixed doubles and ladies’ doubles finals at the All England Club in 20.

The farm celebrates the diversity of heritage breeds (many are indigenous) of domesticated animals with interesting histories and stories in South Africa. 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. Even when you live in the country, its not every day that a cow wees on you. Richard Haigh has transformed a wattle infested 10ha near Camperdown into a Place of Agricultural Abundance as the name Enaleni states in isiZulu. “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. When he eventually left the NGO sector, he wanted to find a small-scale homestead farm. Founded in April 1996, its largest shareholder is richard. “My work took me into rural areas where, on occasion, I would be given simple but incredible meals,” he says. It operates in the retail sale of fruit and vegetables in specialised stores sector, SIC Code 47210. 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. Richard started his small but mighty agro-ecological farm just outside Durban with humble intentions.

The Farm by Richard Haigh