IMG_3752-Edit
work in progress. transforming the old molteno brothers fruit storage warehouse into a food hall, deli, produce market, all in steam punk archi style
elgin/grabouw, western cape
the molteno brothers, from wikipedia
The two brothers had long had an interest in building the agricultural export industry of southern Africa; in fact, their father had conducted one of the first experimental mass exports of South African fruit (chartering the Brig Comet to Australia, in 1841).[1] The brothers first invested in the Palmiet area in 1903. They may have been influenced by the purchase of some land in the area by their older brothers, Percy and Frank Molteno (Percy Molteno initially assisted his younger brothers with his connections in the export industry and a loan to buy their first plot).[2] From modest beginnings farming vegetables, they eventually built up a vast farming enterprise that spanned the entire valley and what is now the largest single export fruit producing area in Southern Africa.
They restructured the South African fruit farming industry along scientific lines, pioneering new farming and cold storage practices and were influential in the development and uplifting of rural communities in the area.[3] They also founded the Cape Tercentenary Foundation in 1950 to promote and support the arts and the environment in the Cape (Both brothers were extremely well read, appreciators of music and the arts, and were deeply concerned about the natural environment).[4]
The name of their original farm - Glen Elgin - subsequently came to refer to the whole region. This area is today one of the more intensively farmed districts of South Africa and produces 60% of the national apple crop.
IMG_3752-Edit
work in progress. transforming the old molteno brothers fruit storage warehouse into a food hall, deli, produce market, all in steam punk archi style
elgin/grabouw, western cape
the molteno brothers, from wikipedia
The two brothers had long had an interest in building the agricultural export industry of southern Africa; in fact, their father had conducted one of the first experimental mass exports of South African fruit (chartering the Brig Comet to Australia, in 1841).[1] The brothers first invested in the Palmiet area in 1903. They may have been influenced by the purchase of some land in the area by their older brothers, Percy and Frank Molteno (Percy Molteno initially assisted his younger brothers with his connections in the export industry and a loan to buy their first plot).[2] From modest beginnings farming vegetables, they eventually built up a vast farming enterprise that spanned the entire valley and what is now the largest single export fruit producing area in Southern Africa.
They restructured the South African fruit farming industry along scientific lines, pioneering new farming and cold storage practices and were influential in the development and uplifting of rural communities in the area.[3] They also founded the Cape Tercentenary Foundation in 1950 to promote and support the arts and the environment in the Cape (Both brothers were extremely well read, appreciators of music and the arts, and were deeply concerned about the natural environment).[4]
The name of their original farm - Glen Elgin - subsequently came to refer to the whole region. This area is today one of the more intensively farmed districts of South Africa and produces 60% of the national apple crop.