Shantall Starck and The Earth Centre in Swellendam.
People are searching for sustainable alternatives
Across the world, disillusionment with political structures is amplifying as fast as climate change approaches. Everywhere, people are looking for ways to live that create the happiest balance within teetering global systems. Many dream of living sustainably, off the grid, safe from the vast social forces swirling threateningly on our overpopulated, over-commodified, over-polluted planet.
The Langeberg has staggeringly large catchment areas for mountain water
This turns our gaze towards a central basic need that sustains life: water. In South Africa, water is becoming increasingly scarce. This is hard to believe when you live in an oasis like the Langeberg catchment area around Swellendam, where water pours down the towering mountains pretty much all year round. One would hope that, in such a paradise, there would be people who take this massive gift with both hands and make the most of it. One such person is Shantall Starck.
First hand experience
Shantall began this adventure by living sustainably herself. This is a mammoth achievement requiring back-breaking work and constant crisis management on a shoestring budget. Many have tried and failed; most have given up. That she pulled off this dream in reality already tells me Shantall is a force to be reckoned with.
A community takes shape
She started selling her excess produce, and began forming a fascinating and growing circle of friendships with others wanting to do the same. An opening arose for her to collate this burgeoning culture in one place, so that customers in the area could bond with her growing farming community. This became The Earth Centre, now housed in the ancient museum shop in Old Swellendam.
Variety is key
Shantall takes a keen interest in sustainable farming and its many philosophies and practises. Nuanced implications of permaculture, biodynamic farming and regenerative farming are all respected. The produce includes fruit, vegetables, herbs, chicken, meat, milk, eggs, oils, cheeses, yoghurts, nuts, juices, pate, sauces, and festoons of health products. Such is the wealth and variety that her shop has remained fully stocked throughout the stringent lockdown laws applied in South Africa during the Covid pandemic.
Eco-nomical eating
I believe Shantall, who is clearly not a passing faddist, when she talks about the cost-effectiveness of this way of eating. She pays small farmers more than supermarkets do, which makes all the difference to keeping them in business. This makes her produce marginally more expensive, but one spends less in the end. One needs to eat less as the food is so packed with goodness. What a welcome idea, and one I can imagine is certainly true. One would also save on doctors’ bills. This is not just a food shop, it’s a “farmacy.”
Sustaining relationships sustains this community
Most dreams of this kind crash on the rocks of personality clashes. Everyone involved is an idealist nursing their own visions. Talking to Shantall, it becomes clear that she lives up to the demands of being the backbone of a culture much larger than herself. She is impressively self-schooled in the suspension of judgement. She is adamant that everyone means well and wants to do their best, no matter their background or capacity. As she talks about this, her eyes light up and her inner health shines. “Support your local community,” she says, with passion in her voice.
