Wildeklawer, a farmer-of-year-recognised South African agricultural farm, understands that it is part of a larger ecosystem in agriculture and farming in South Africa.
The company acknowledges that there are many stakeholders involved in this system and that it is important for them to play a positive role in their communities.
Therefore they are very invested and excited about Klawer Kleuters, a primary school on the premises of Wildeklawer, just outside Barkly-West in the Northern Cape.
Cora de Kock, co-owner of Wildeklawer, shares how the first school they opened on the farm enabled the children to become part of the Wildeklawer employment stream.
“For us, it’s very important to invest in people. It’s not just about irrigation and expanding farming practices, but also about investing in our team and the people who work with us. We have always wanted to expand education of the young children on the farm and didn’t have the capacity to do it on a larger scale. In earlier years, we had a pre-school on the premises but GWK came on board and invested in our early childhood development centre, Klawer Kleuters. The capacity is now much larger and we were able to upgrade.”
Cora says it’s vital to build company values and with a team that are part of the ecosystem and community on the farm, it uplifts each and every person.
Wildeklawer has been recognised as potato farmer of the year, as well as farmer of the year but they don’t stop there. “We want to make a difference in people’s lives. If we can see light in our employee’s eyes and we know they are happy and striving, we know it’s all worth it. Our employees are happy and they come to work with a spring in their step. That for us, is very rewarding.”
Llewellyn Brooks, group CEO of GWK, says GWK invests in ECD schools to better the future. “The young children are our future. Not just the next five years but 20 years. When we can help instill a value system and education, it creates a future generation. It is vital to have locally developed workforces who can contribute to their communities.”
Rejane Steward, a teacher at Klawer Kleuters, says she finds such joy in seeing the children’s smiles. “To see them grow as individuals and see the smiles on their faces, makes me happy.”
Many of the children move on to study and find employment successfully in South Africa.
With this school, the future of South Africa and the Northern Cape, look bright. And it all starts on Wildeklawer.
Have a look at the video below:
