Historic 280-year-old family farm in South Africa that makes export-quality fruit and cannabis
The oldest running family business in the world was founded in 719 AD in Japan, while South Africa’s oldest family-owned business, Boplaas 1743 Estate, is over 280 years old.
Despite the challenging economic conditions in their first few months, approximately 82% of new businesses survive their first year.
However, by the time they reach their tenth year, only about 35% remain active. The primary reasons for closure include low sales, retirement, and business sales.
These reasons indicate that the closure of a business isn’t always an “ending”; rather, it can be a transition.
In today’s era of technological and social advancement, a “golden age of entrepreneurship” filled with new opportunities, businesses frequently emerge and fade away.
This is according to Payroll Prices’ latest report on the oldest family businesses in every country. Payroll Prices is a UK-based platform that connects businesses with payroll services.
To identify the oldest family-owned business in each country, Payroll Prices conducted research using news reports in each nation’s native language.
The criteria for selection included that the businesses must still be operating today and that the founding family retains the majority of ownership.
Additionally, companies that have changed ownership throughout their history are still eligible as long as they are currently owned by the founding family.
The Boplaas farm was originally granted to Izaak van der Merwe and has remained under the ownership of the Van der Merwe family since it was started in 1743.
Schalk van der Merwe, the tenth-generation custodian, currently manages the farm, which is home to him, his wife Kyla, and their youngest, Fanie, an eleventh-generation Van der Merwe.
Notably, from Payroll Prices’ list of the oldest family businesses in Africa, South Africa takes first place, followed by Tanzania’s Karimjee Group, which was founded in 1818.
The oldest existing family-run business in the world is Hōshi Ryokan, a hotel and spa founded in 719 AD in Japan.
Boplaas 1743 Estate
The Boplaas Farm is located in the Koue Bokkeveld near Ceres, about 200 km northeast of Cape Town in the Western Cape.
According to the Boplaas website, the Koue Bokkeveld is a region in the Western Cape Province of South Africa known for fruit cultivation, particularly apples and pears.
“Koue”, in Afrikaans, can be translated as cold, and “bokkeveld” as the grassland where buck or antelope once roamed.
The farm is known for its production of export apples and pears, and has a heritage spanning ten generations.
According to the farm, Boplaas is managed according to the same principles and values of “stewardship and sustainability” that have been used throughout generations.
“The family values of honesty, respect, integrity, gratitude and perseverance that have been practised on the farm Boplaas since its beginning, are also applied within the other business entities in the group,” said Boplaas.
The farm offers export fruit, including apples, pears, peaches, oranges, tangerines and lemons, as well as medicinal cannabis.
Boplaas exports to over 80 countries across Europe, the Far East, the Middle East, South-East Asia, North America, Africa, and Australia.
In addition to its export-quality fruit, the farm also offers a 4-star self-catering guesthouse for visitors to stay in.
Boplaas said it has planted over 50,000 trees in South Africa, saving over 1,667 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
The main house on the farm was built in 1780, in a Cape vernacular style, which received the status of national monument in 1973, later updated to a provincial heritage site.
“The farmhouse itself hosts a rich and diverse collection of antique household items, décor elements and furniture used over the centuries,” the Boplaas website said.
“The furniture, mostly handcrafted, incorporates 21 different wood species, including yellow, cedar, and stinkwood.”
The farm’s Marlenique Packhouse at Simondium, which packs its citrus and stone fruit, is 90% solar powered by Africa’s first floating solar plant.
Pictures of Boplaas farm
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