Rodney Ernest Liebich from Atlantis

Tell us a little about yourself!

I was raised in rural Transkei about an hour’s bumpy, dusty or muddy drive from the idyllic Wild Coast resort of Hole in the Wall. My father managed a trading station where we had to be largely self supporting. It was a large property, two lands dedicated to growing summer maize and winter grains, a small black wattle plantation, providing wood for the stove and poles for for any number of applications. There was a herd of milk cows, a sheep pen and pig stys and a large run for poultry. There were beehives, and enough grassed area for the plough horse. The kitchen garden was extensive. A variety of fruit trees dotted the area, a small lucerne field, and vegetable beds where I was recruited to assist my mother.

Thereshe turned the fertile soil with the hoe that my great-grandmother brought with her when she came to South Africa. (I still have that well worn hoe, but nowit hangs inaplace of honour, after having fed four generations in our family). Primary education began in a nearby one roomed village school. The afternoons, after running wild in the veld, or playing with the animal herders, was followed by chores. The eggs of the free range hens had to be found. The pigs had to be fed with kitchen scraps and garden weeds.

My father bought the hard melons that the subsistence farmers grew in the maize fields for winter pig feed . Chopping them up with a panga was a frustrating challenge that tested my character! Often the panga would bounce off the hard round peels, or glance off to the side. Holidays meant seaside fun, hiking, rock climbing, swimming and fishing along theWild Coast. High school and hostel life in Umtata preceded army conscription.

I found employment as a clerk on the SA Railways and subsequently got to know the whole Eastern Cape from Bedford to Viedgiesville, and from East London to Barkly East.

How did you start doing what you are doing now? 

Delice and I were married in 1968. In 1969 we moved to Johannesburg for software development training and employment. The creativity demanded in problem solving and solution design in this profession continued to energise me until now, with my 80th birthday peeping over the horizon.

In parallel with my secular career, I have studied theology, attended an evening Bible School. This led to us relocating to Cape Town to teach Bible School students.

Advancing years, and a compassion for marginalised and extremely vulnerable African refugees led me in a new direction. Frustration at the limitations of not being able to offer adequate training or gainful employment in a small suburban garden motivated me to consider returning to my roots, and finding a property with room to breathe.

Inspiration came from sources such as “Farming God’s way”, and the permaculture material of Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton. In 2013, Pension and investment payouts on reaching retirement age allowed us to purchase a 2.5 hectare property near Atlantis on the West Coast of South Africa. I continued to work part time on a contract basis, which provided much needed funds for propertydevelopment and maintenance.

What are you most proud of in this process? 

After bringing up five of the two children we planned to have, and caring for a couple of others besides, we now find ourselves with a close knit family which includes 12 grandchildren from toddler to young adults, plus another bunch who are convinced we are blood relatives!

When lockdown restrictions limited personal contact with the refugee community, I founded a WhatsApp based Bible school to sustain those relationships. The reach of social media has subsequently drawn students from Cape Town in the South to Nigeria in the North. The refugee community have rebuilt a shed on the property for their Sunday church services, and a second group are intending to follow suit.

What is the most helpful piece of advice you received when you were just starting out? 

I have to give credit to my wife for repeatedly bringing my big dream self back to solid earth.

I have learned the hard way that I should pay careful attention to her advice. She is a city girl, and has my undying admiration for giving up her well-ordered and organised life to take up residence in a revamped cottage, which has resisted every heart-breaking effort to be leak proof!

What advice would you like to give to others who are younger/earlier on their journey? 

Receive courage to pursue a dream: Before I looked at our property, I was absolutely convinced of one thing: My dream to farm was God given, and not based on some misdirected ego trip or whim.

That conviction has carried me through every challenge - floods, droughts, fire, damage because of the poorly constructed buildings, like leaky irrigation pipe plumbing in the house walls and floor. Secondly, I knew there was treasure in the soil, waiting to be unlocked. We named our little farm, “Arcelia”, meaning, “Treasure Chest”, or alternatively, “Altar of Heaven”. Both interpretations seem purpose fit.

Where do you see growing going in South Africa? 

This is a challenging question. Until farmers in general become convinced that eco- friendly methods are financially beneficial, they will tend to go with artificially manufactured pesticides and fertilisers.