Pioneer of biodynamic farming laid to rest
2009-10-01
Maggie Follett
THE internationally-acclaimed pioneer of biodynamic farming in South Africa, Jeanne Malherbe of Wellington, passed away peacefully on 16 September after a long illness, ten days before her 78th birthday. Jeanne’s father was one of only two naturopaths in the country, and although he died when she was only seven, his belief in a healthy diet and natural healing principles was a powerful formative influence. A nature-lover, she became known for the unusual floral arrangements created at her little shop in Kenilworth, Cape Town, and it was whilst preparing flowers for a wake that she began to contemplate the mystery of life and death in earnest. Through friends teaching at South Africa’s first Waldorf school, she first encountered the concept of biodynamic farming at a lecture given by a visiting British expert. This methodology stems from the philosophies of Austrian scientist Rudolph Steiner, founder of the Anthroposophical movement on which the Waldorf educational system is based. Inspired by this life-affirming, earth-friendly system, Jeanne enrolled at the newly-established Emerson College in England, to study farming and Naturopathy. Nurtured by two years’ grounding in Steiner’s philosophies, followed by six months of farming experience in Germany, she returned to South Africa, moving to Wellington in 1969, where she set about finding agricultural land on which to realise her vision of growing “whole, uncontaminated food”. Hearing of an old fruit farm for sale in the Blouvlei area, Jeanne ascended the rutted track beneath the Hawequa Mountains, and “instantly fell in love” with the place that was to become synonymous with her name. Nestling in a sheltered hollow, rich in Fynbos and watered by a natural spring, Bloublommetjieskloof boasted an early Cape Dutch farmhouse, as well as various cottages and outbuildings. On moving in, she bought “a load of manure and installed two cows”, in accordance with biodynamic principles. At that time much of the land was fallow, with extensive plantings of sweet potato. These she ploughed up and replaced with vegetables, beginning the life of a humble farmer, assisted only by a few local labourers. At that time, the notion of a single woman undertaking such a venture was unheard of, and she was met with disapproval by the conservative local community, and censure from the agricultural establishment. Undaunted, the hearty, outspoken Jeanne embarked on her programme of rehabilitating the soil, and attempting to create an holistic, self-sustaining eco-system. Her long-term vision was to establish a thriving retreat away from the hubbub and shallow materialism of the city, which offered refuge and spiritual refreshment to like-minded souls. A paltry income and considerable expenses made the task of establishing Bloublommetjieskloof as a viable working farm an enormous challenge, which Jeanne met with dedication and dogged determination, delivering farm-fresh organic produce, preserves, home-bakes and dairy goods in her little van, and selling her wares from a stall at the popular Rondebosch market in Cape Town. Eventually, Jeanne’s long labour of love began to pay dividends, and she achieved international recognition as a vociferous and highly-influential proponent of biodynamic farming, visiting many countries and meeting with other luminaries in the field.
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