From worker to owner

Jan Jansen, of the Elgin Valley in the Western Cape, decided that he didn't want to be a farm labourer for the rest of his life. Instead, he made sure that his dreams of owning the soil on which he toiled, and producing beautiful wine for the world to share, became a reality.

Working on the farm of Paul Cluver, who owns Paul Cluver Estate, Jansen began to dream of owning a vineyard and producing his own wine. Jansen shared his dream with Cluver. Instead of reacting with laughter like most of Jansen's friends and fellow labourers, Cluver shared his enthusiasm and decided to help him realise his ambitions.

In partnership with the state forestry department, Cluver donated land to the communities of De Rust and Lebabon as part of a process of land redistribution and reform. The Thandi Project was then born, as an empowerment profit-sharing scheme headed up by Cluver. Jansen took over, and Thandi Farm was the result.

Today, Thandi Farm is a successful and profitable exporter of grapes and wine to the UK. Thandi Wine shares shelf space with some of South Africa's better known export wines, as well as wines from the rest of the world.

Jansen is the epitom?of today's South Africans, who have the courage and determination to achieve extraordinary things.