I’m very excited to be part of a new project that’s just been launched in Cape Town:  Harvest Share,  a first-time fruit-sharing project connecting consumers to local family farms.

The project is similar to the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) initiatives I’ve written about before, but with a slightly different spin.

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Here’s what it’s all about:

We organize with local farmers to buy their fruit in bulk, and share the harvest with a group of like-minded consumers.

For our first Harvest Share, we are working with farmer Charles Ochse of Hoogwater Farm (also the source of Ladera Artisan wines), situated just outside Wolseley in the Cape Winelands.

Over the course of the summer, he will supply us with four lots of figs and peaches he grows on his family farm, each lot showcasing different varietals of figs and peaches.

It’s a great opportunity for Capetonians to experience the different varieties of fig and peach that Hoogwater Farm grows, to benefit from buying directly from the farmers at a reduced bulk price, and receive freshly picked fruit during the summer months.

In a nutshell:

• One share costs R300, and comprises four deliveries, or ‘lots’ of fruit
• In each lot you will receive a 2.5kg tray of peaches, and two punnets of figs (6-15 figs in total, varying with varietal size)
• Lots can be collected on predetermined Thursdays between 3 and 6pm at Kwalapa Organic Deli & Store in Newlands
• Provisional collection dates are: 13 January, 17 February, 3 March, 24 March (Why provisional dates? See here )
• Fruit varietals include Keisie, Neetling, Woltemade and kakamas peaches, and Genoa, Evita, King, Adam and/or Charles figs
• Each collection will be preceded by a reminder email with farm and varietal information and recipes
• Shares must be paid for in one advance payment
• Optional outing to Hoogwater Farm will be arranged in March

Much like the CSA’s, at the end of the fruit season, we will be organising a picnic or similar kind of outing to the farm where all of this fabulous produce is grown… so that Harvest Share members can meet the farmer (Charles Ochse) and make a connection with the farm itself.

Happily, we’ve had a huge amount of interest already, especially considering the distractions of the festive season – so we think we’re on the right track! Shares are limited, so if you’re keen on uber-fresh locally-sourced fruit that comes in four different varieties, head over to the Harvest Share website and sign yourself up!

(We took loads of photos on our visit to Hoogwater Farm in November – if you’re curious, you can have a look at them here.)

DISCLAIMER: Please use any event information as a guide only. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy thereof, things do change – and the best way to make sure something is definitely on is to contact the event organisers themselves. Full bells’n'whistles disclaimer here.