The Drift Farm

When the Jack family moved to The Drift Estate in 1999 we encountered a place of breathtaking beauty and immense agricultural potential. The farm is isolated and tranquil, offering a beautiful breathtaking respite from the rush of everyday life. It is also a working farm growing delicious organic vegetables, producing  world-class extra virgin olive oil and making finely crafted wines of exceptional quality.

Our farming and produce is shaped by our organic philosophy. We take special care over what we plant and where we plant it to imbue the essence of our natural and extreme environment. Our organic produce is available to our guests and through a number of select farm stalls and retail outlets, we also sell to trade. We are always striving to sustain a truly organic environment at our farm and became fully certified organic in 2012.  All our plants are root-fed with earthworm water from our own earthworm farm and we use compost and mulch. This is complemented by systemically applying compost teas and adding stinging nettles, comfrey, chamomile and yarrow to activate the compost. Heirloom vegetables are varieties that were widely available centuries ago, but that have become rare in the age of modern large-scale agriculture and mass cultivation of only a handful of seed varieties. These old charmers are making a comeback, giving us a glimpse of life in earlier times and the genetic diversity that was available on the planet before mass production.

Similarly, our vineyards are straw-mulched to retain moisture in the soil, resulting in a saving of up to 40% water usage as well as suppressing weeds in the vineyards.  We do not use any chemical fertilisers or pesticides on The Drift Farm, rather preferring compost as a fertiliser. We use lupins as cover crops to improve the soil and when necessary, for control of vine disease, our vineyards are sprayed with natural sprays, approved for organic and biodynamic productions.  We also have an agreement with our neighbours that they do not use chemical sprays on the adjoining land.

The HeadStart Trust has been working in poor and marginalised communities of the Cape for over 10 years. In the last 5 years, activities centred around Napier in the Overberg, where the Jack family farm is located. Working at Protea Primary in Napier, we started with an organic vegetable garden development, warm beanies for the young learners in winter, donations of extra furniture and annual stationery and art equipment. We also arranged outreach programmes from privileged schools in Cape Town to do community service in Napier.