Should you consider moving to a residential farming estate?  

Security, exclusivity and a community lifestyle have always been draw cards for buyers investing in housing estates.

In recent years, however, a new trend has developed that is seeing estates incorporate farming into the traditional model of a security estate, with the aim of creating communities that embrace sustainability and a simpler, homesteading lifestyle.

So what does this model offer buyers and communities?

Mount Verde Estate

Mount Verde Estate, situated in Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal, has been designed to offer an authentic farm experience blended with luxury, security, and a laidback and sustainable lifestyle. Brigid Scheuer, from Reallist, a dedicated property practitioner for the Estate, says the 750ha estate is not your normal agrihood, where you have a communal farm surrounded by a neighbourhood, but rather a neighbourhood surrounded by active working two – 7ha farmettes.

‘The defining feature of an agrihood is its working farm, where agriculture isn’t just an amenity, it’s a way of life.  The Mount Verde Agrihood has a proposed mix of unit sizes, ranging from studios to farmettes to accommodate families of all sizes, including young singles, growing families, and empty nesters, and everything in-between,’ she says.

The greater Mount Verde was established in 2006. ‘The vision was to integrate agricultural amenities – such as working farms, orchards, community gardens – into residential and mixed-use communities and hamlets, inspiring a healthier lifestyle offering all the benefits of estate living as well as the convenience of living on the doorstep of some of the country’s best schooling, health, and business facilities,’ she says.

Both the Ridge and the Village will consist of several rural neighbourhoods. Pathways, edible forests, and sidewalks are designed to connect farmettes, residential hamlets, and a Village Square into a seamless network, reminiscent of a traditional village. A system of greenways and trails surround the community and will connect residents to various areas within Mount Verde Estate.

Due to the high rainfall, temperate climate, and very low occurrences of frost, a variety of farming activities can and have been successful within the greater Mount Verde. It includes proteas, macadamia plantations, blueberries, gooseberries, essential oils, avocados, wagyu and boran cattle, sheep farming as well as gin, whiskey, and a brandy distillery.

‘In this Agrihood, agriculture isn’t just an amenity, it promotes community social ties, access to local food, and preservation of farmland. An estate where you can have peace of mind knowing you are providing your family the type of neighbourhood to live your best life,’ says Brigid.

Future plans, as the various crops develop, include offering a retail platform that will see a test kitchen being established together with a local chef school, as well as subscription-based Harvest Boxes of home-grown seasonal produce, an initiative that the estate farmers will be encouraged to participate in.

‘What traditional golf estates were for the Boomers, the agricultural estate will be for this next generation. There is great appeal in the idea of a rural, village community, and our buyers, mostly from the 35 – 45-year age group, have young families and are looking for a healthy lifestyle, wide open spaces for their children and to live more sustainably.’

‘They also value the educational opportunities provided by the proximity to farms and often appreciate the sense of community and outdoor activities. Another common denominator is the appeal of the strong sense of community, access to fresh, locally grown food, and a closer connection to nature,’ says Brigid.

Mount Verde aims to be the most sustainable estate in the country by not only utilizing environmentally sustainable best practices but to ultimately becoming self-sufficient. Residents and visitors will be able to enjoy the rural appeal of the community in perpetuity because the Estate has made a deliberate choice to preserve and maintain its rural character.

Crossways Farm Village

Crossways Farm Village (CFV), situated halfway between Jeffreys Bay and Gqeberha, is South Africa’s first rural new town and smart village. Developed by Chris Mulder and Associates Inc., the Master Planers, Urban Designers, Architects, and co-developers of Thesen Islands in Knysna.  The CFV Rural New Town is divided into three nodes, agricultural, conservation, and human settlement, and it even boasts its own completed landing strip and aeropark.

The agriculture and conservation land are ring-fenced, never to be developed and the human settlement areas provide for residential, commercial, and light industrial zones, all fully approved and fully rezoned. Home to a working dairy farm with 400 cows, buyers looking for a farmstead lifestyle or even just a quieter lifestyle can invest in stands ranging from 270sqm to 5500sqm, all with complete design guidelines, urban regulations, and concept plans.

Levies are determined by the percentage coverage of the individual.  Current farming activities underway by residents include selected areas to grow fruit vegetables and medicinal plants.  Those who don’t consider themselves farmers but who want to enjoy a sustainable lifestyle can rent allotments from the estate on a smaller scale.  Chris shares that his idea behind the town was to develop an estate in the rural space, outside the urban edges that benefits local, mostly displaced communities in the area.

‘Crossways Farm Village Development Co. has created a community trust and 2,5% of every property we sell goes into the trust. Once a property is sold and developed and the new property owner sells his property onwards, the property owner, as embedded in the title deed, will contribute 0,5% of the now inflated property value into the trust.  ‘This way a continuous income stream has been created for the community of the 3,000 people in Thornhill, our adopted community. With a 10% turnover in properties each year an annual income stream has been created for the community trust each year.

‘Everything we design at Crossways is as labor-intensive as possible so that we can keep the local community employed. We build everything on the farm, from streetlights to roads, and manage refuse removal – it is all done by local contractors. Furthermore, the community trust sponsors soup kitchens, and sports teams and is even arranging for our own on-site fibre to be shared with the local school in the community as well as the Woodridge College nearby.’

This innovative trend of agricultural living and community involvement is a great indicator of the shift towards living more responsibly which considers health and the environment. It provides for community and wholesome living – a great benefit in modern society.