Tafelkop is a family business centred around farming in the Little Karoo. The owner, Cobus Uys, bought a piece of land from his dad’s farm where he and his two sisters grew up on. Cobus stepped out of his student shoes, Masters’ degree in hand and into his farming boots in 1995. After thousands of tests on growing cucumbers in the labs of Stellenbosch University, it was time to build his own tunnels and put his knowledge to practice. For a number of years Tafelkop Nursery produced millions of seedlings to many customers. This ranged from any vegetable under the sun, to flowers and even fruit trees. A few hundred of peach and apricot trees found their way to the broader farm and made up some 50 odd hectares of proper orchards. These trees were soon flourishing, producing more fruit than the community of Montagu could eat altogether. The idea of letting the hot African sun kiss the fruit sprouted soon thereafter. After doing a bit of research, Cobus installed machines to cut the juicy peaches and treat them before sending them to bathe in the hot sun. This led to the establishment of Tafelkop Dried Fruit. Combining work and travel, Cobus took his family on a few road trips around the country to sell the dried fruit and market their brand nationally.

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Scheepersdraai farm is the home base for the multifaceted Tafelkop business. The mountain, or ‘koppie’, that inspired the business name is located on the Eastern flank of the farm. Many adrenaline junkies and 4x4 lovers followed Cobus’s trail up and down that ‘koppie’ for some breath taking sceneries and nail biting descents. The 4x4 trail is still available to be conquered on request.

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The latest addition to the Tafelkop business is the Wood Work. Some say this passion was birthed from his father’s love for working with wood, who followed an occupation in this industry before marrying his mother and moving to their family farm. Others say it is because he fell totally and utterly in love with Makita (the power tool company). Rumour has it, there are Makitas in the garage, living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and even in his bakkie. He might even have more Makita batteries than socks in his cupboard.

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This business is therefore built on passion, driven by the acquisition of knowledge and held together by family. The constant adaption to change and refusal to give up is what keeps it alive today still.