Then you call it a Solms-Delta Sunset Concert.

The season is truly under way, with two concerts gone, and another seven to go until the last one on March 10. The first concert on 14^th January kicked off with the adorable Kleinhandjies (Little Hands) choir from the crèche. All togged out in white pants, blue jackets, and white hats and carrying small blue umbrellas, they nearly put the professional klopse carnival troupes of Cape Town to shame. They even performed a couple of traditional Riel dances – the Khoisan derived dances that
are enjoying a tremendous, popular revival through the competitions arranged by the ATKV. They were naturally given a rapturous reception by the audience.

Seriously, though, these toddlers are an important part of the Solms-Delta programme of rediscovering the musical heritage of the rural Cape and Karin Clarke, the supervisor of the crèche, is ensuring that this is as much part of their diet as their daily milk.

The evening also included music by Pieter van den Westhuizen, an iconic singer and composer in the Winelands, who usually
performs with the sprightly 80 year old Tant Grietjie, she of the red kappie and naughty folk songs. He, too, was listened to intently, and warmly applauded.

The second concert featured all the sections of the music heritage development programme: the Soetstemme Choir (by now much in demand throughout the Winelands for functions and festivities) the Delta Optel band, the Langbroeke band and Les Javan.

It is hard to believe that the three young farm women who made up the opening act, and sang so professionally with the Optel band (and even composed one of the songs!) knew nothing about music four years ago.  Through the help of music tutors they have discovered their musical talents and have developed these talents into real artistry.

The rest of the programme consisted entirely of other music programme “graduates” playing their hearts out. If there were any doubts remaining as to their quality, they were dispelled when the Soetstemme choir combined with the Langbroeke brass band. The music was irresistible and the entire audience was up and dancing.

So, be warned, put on your dancing shoes when you come to a Solms-Delta Sunset Concert and be prepared to be charmed by
the beat of Cape Rural Music .

By John van Zyl

]]> http://www.solms-delta.co.za/2012/01/summer-concerts-trumpet-in-the-new-year/feed/ 0 http://www.solms-delta.co.za/2012/01/solms-delta-summer-concerts-2012-kicks-off/ http://www.solms-delta.co.za/2012/01/solms-delta-summer-concerts-2012-kicks-off/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:37:09 +0000 Solms-Delta http://www.solms-delta.co.za/?p=9639 The Solms-Delta and Die Burger Saturday Summer Concert Series, a season of outdoor live concerts set in the beautiful Franschhoek Winelands kicked off on Sat 12 January with music legend Pieter van der Westhuizen and local Delta musos – includes Delta 5: Springbok Nudies Adriaan Brand and Sons of Trout Nick Turner, the Soetstemme voices and Klein Handjies. 
Click here for the full Summer Concert line-up.

Enjoy a feast of rural Cape food, music and dance and a hearty Fyndraai Kaapse Braai Buffet. Time: 7pm to 9.30pm. Cost: R195pp, Kids under 12yrs R95. Bookings call Henry on 021 874 3937 or email: restaurant@solms-delta.co.za and see Facebook.com/solmsdelta for updates and to win tickets. Follow Twitter @solms_delta.  The summer concerts are a warm up to the fifth annual Franschhoek Oesfees 2012 at Solms-Delta on Saturday 24 March (10am-9pm) – headlined by David Kramer! Book NOW for that to get the early bird rate!

It is that time of the year were friends and family gather together and toast to a year’s memories that have passed, but will never be forgotten.  Being a firm believer that these memories should be treasured and celebrated, what better way to do so, than to serve only the best wine.

To read more of this article online click here.

You may be surprised that I am writing about goats on Solms-Delta, as the worms and Humphrey and co, have barely settled in; but ten fine-looking African goats were delivered to Solms-Delta on Thursday. They have been placed temporarily in a back paddock behind the cattle kraal, and that too, was the cause of my problems.

There are two routes to their paddock. Option one is through the cattle kraal and option two is to walk all the way around the kraal. Although I admire the cattle’s splendour, I have also noticed their magnificently long and dangerous-looking horns.  They have two young calves in the herd, so not willing to tangle with them, I prudently chose option two, around the kraal.

Losing my shoes every third step and having them fill up with all available Dik Delta sand, was not too much of an issue, it was climbing the log fence, to acquire that perfect photo, that proved to be my undoing. I foolishly chose a section of the kraal that looked the easiest to climb, the entrance to the kraal. This meant that the logs were all actually loose. I soon found myself performing a form of barrel-rolling with no water to fall into, for an audience of bemused and inquisitive goats. Then, on hearing the commotion, the entire cattle herd raced over to my side of the kraal for part of the action.

Please find attached a half goat picture, it was the best I could do. I am not sure how long goats take to forget, but when I have recovered from my embarrassment I will write a real goat story.  For now I am eternally grateful I decided not to wear a dress.

These worms will be joining our increasing array of livestock in the Dik Delta garden, but unlike our fat-tailed sheep, Sanga cattle and donkey, Ben, we will be working them a lot harder, as they have a very important job to do.
Our sandy, depleted soils in Dik Delta are in serious need of some attention so that they are able to produce healthy and vigorous plants, in quantities large enough to supply our Fyndraai restaurant.  Worm composting is a process where earthworms are used to process waste materials into a valuable fertiliser.

The worm castings have tremendous benefits for the soil.  They contain beneficial microbes, minerals, amino acids, bacteria and other nutrients which enhance and improve soil.  If you give it some thought, it’s pretty obvious that earthworms and plants have evolved together over millions of years.  They have a symbiotic relationship; the one enhances the other.

We have built a box-like structure on legs, a flow-through system, which means that food is added to the top and the worm castings, a high quality fertiliser, falls through the grid and is raked up at the bottom.  Organic waste from the Fyndraai kitchen, shredded paper from the offices and grass cuttings from the estate will provide the food for these hungry worms. And this worm-made fertiliser will be transferred directly back into the Dik Delta culinary garden.

The environmental benefits of a worm farm are many:
A lot of organic waste that usually gets thrown away in the kitchen is brilliant food for worms.
When the organic waste is broken down in a worm farm, no greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. This means that if you have a worm farm you are helping to stop global warming.
You are recycling waste into a quality fertiliser.
Worm castings are 100% natural.
You are reducing your total amount of waste and thus the amount of space needed at the local landfill.
A worm farm is a great way to teach children how to care for the environment.

The worms seem comfortable and snug in their new home, but I can’t help but wanting to name at least the one that is looking at me, and the name ‘Humphrey’ instantly springs to mind!

R195 per person includes entertainment and the Buffet selection below:

Menu
Garden leaf salad
Aartappelslaai
Tangy noodle salad
Traditional roosterkoek with jams and blatjang
Wilde kruie marinated barbequed lamb
Smoked Turkey and sticky barbequed Gammon
Snoek on the braai with pickled onions
Traditional boerewors and stuffing
Desserts
Banana bread pudding
Melktert

To make a reservation call Henry at Fyndraai on 021-874 3937 ext 115 or email restaurant@solms-delta.co.za.

The children of Solms-Delta are exposed to a very busy academic and extra-curricular programme, taking part in school sport, outings, sport tours and adventure camps at Franschhoek High School.  Furthermore, Solms-Delta farm is a hive of activity aimed at enhancing the children’s life skills, general knowledge, cultural exposure and community involvement.

The biggest challenge for the Anna Foundation at Solms-Delta was to put the available time to the best use. Anna Foundation staff members needed to be really creative and enthusiastic to win the children over to doing that extra bit to improve their academic achievements, and develop a sound work ethic. An exciting and varied sports programme, fun runs and two inter-farm events (soccer and touch rugby) made for a very busy half-year.

In order to be more efficient in our academic programme, we work in close cooperation with the teachers from Franschhoek High School and when necessary adapt our programme to reinforce the current learning area at school. The teachers assist in taking certain grade groups from Mondays to Thursdays to ensure more individual attention. This is a very important aspect, since a number of the children have special needs. This support is invaluable.

In July 2011 Solms-delta appointed a qualified teacher as a facilitator at Franschhoek School. This is mainly to assist our children at school during the day. The facilitator helps these children five times per week from 8h00-14h00. Her focus for the last six months was mainly on reading and maths, as some of the children were struggling with this, especially in the older grades. The Anna Foundation at Solms-Delta also focused intensively on mathematical calculations, which contributed to their marked improvement.

Regarding literacy, it is heartening to see that children have gradually started to make use of the reading corner of their own accord (reading for pleasure). There is, however, still much room for improvement in this area.

Renee Coetzee (Anna Foundation)

The journey that this remarkable woman has undertaken to the point where she is arguably the greatest authority on the ethnic food cultures of South Africa, has been along a fascinating and winding road. Born in Reitzburg on the banks of the Vaal River, she attended high school in Potchefstroom where she was head-girl and the Dux scholar, and then went on to study at Potchefstroom University. “I wanted to study Chemistry and Physics, but in those days they thought the sciences were unsuitable for girls, so I majored in chemistry, food science and dietetics.  My love of chemistry and biochemistry has informed all my food research.”  Her studies overseas took her to the Universities of Wisconsin, Michigan State and Cornell.  She obtained her M.Sc in Food Science at the University of Stellenbosch.  A lectureship at the University of Pretoria followed. She found herself becoming increasingly interested in the relationship between food and culture all over the world.   While at Tukkies she had the opportunity to research the African ethnic food culture and published Funa, Food from Africa.

This interest in African food culture was put to the test when she was appointed as the Director of Nutrition and Ethnic Cooking for the Anglo American mining company and found herself planning  250 000 meals a day. The food had to be nutritious and conform to the cultural and gastronomic expectations of mine-workers from all over Southern Africa.  “The things one discovers! Like the miners not liking too much salt, preferring sour and bitter tastes.” This experience led her to write the book with the tongue-in-cheek title, Cost Conscious Catering for all Cultural Tastes.

Other books from her pen include The Southern African Culinary Tradition (Spys en Drank), and more recently, the beautiful Kukumakranka, with recipes used by the Khoi and exquisite photographs by the film maker Volker Miros. Renata is currently putting the finishing touches to a more academic record of the culinary traditions of the Khoi, thus providing a record of the earliest cuisine known to humankind.

In 1990 she went back to Stellenbosch University to lecture on the various ethnic culinary traditions: Jewish, Malay, Hindu, Afrikaans and African.

In 1996 she opened a restaurant in The Castle in Cape Town called De Goewerneur, serving traditional African dishes, including mopani worms. She recalls President Nelson Mandela visited the restaurant twice and each time she served him umngqusho, traditional samp and beans with marrow bones. “He was very health conscious. While the other parliamentarians gorged themselves on thick steaks, he stuck to umushu which is rich in vital amino acids.”

When Renata retired from formal employment in 2000 she began research that focused on the foods of the Khoi people. “Unlike the San who only cooked their meat over an open fire, the Khoi knew about pottery and cooked their food in pots, with herbs.”  She has identified some 200 food plants and herbs, and encourages the cultivation of these plants to prevent them from being lost to modern culture.

Recently she was awarded an honorary doctorate by North-West University (her beloved Potch where it all began) in recognition of all the work she has done in the field of traditional and heritage food in South Africa. I asked her whether she thought the Khoi had a word for “tasty?” “I am sure that they did, otherwise there wouldn’t be such a range of tastes and textures in their food.”

I rest my case for a real Living South African Treasure.

John van Zyl

While there’s not much that growers can do about the weather, there’s still a lot to be done in the vineyard this time of year. Vineyard crews are suckering and shoot-thinning to ensure each vine is in balance in terms of the ratio of (potential) fruit to vegetation.

The Grenache Noir Echalas (stok-by-paaltjie) is carrying an enormous crop at present – up to three bunches per shoot and 15 bunches per vine! We wait patiently until the vine slows down in growth before we start reducing the crop to a level where we think the amount of foliage is in balance with the yield.

Our farm manager, Francois, has taken a lot of trouble to make sure the Grenache is free of mildews (it is very prone to these diseases!) and we have opened up the inside of the “bowl”, removing excess leaves and side shoots (or laterals) to ensure that we have enough light to ripen each bunch.

We are busy regrafting the Rousanne, and Oom Vaatjie from the University of Stellenbosch is teaching us to prepare each vine for grafting and soon we will do the actual grafting, a very specialised job.  We will show you pictures in the next blog!

The Syrah (Shiraz) is growing millimeters by the day and is presently in the tender process of flowering. We hope this lovely weather lasts, as rain and cold weather during flowering can cause bad ‘set’ and a lower or slightly inferior crop.

Some people have had hail damage in this area and as far as Darling and Paardeberg, but fortunately there was no damage here at Solms Delta. All the growing stages of the vines seem to be delayed this year as a result of the lovely cool spring so far.

By: Maria Botha (assistant wine maker) and Rosa Kruger (consultant viticulturist)