In 2018, Ant and Lynn were led quite miraculously to put in an offer to buy a derelict farm in the Agterklipoote Valley, outside of Robertson. In that same year, Brad and Anne spent three months on a regenerative farm in Florida, exploring whether God was calling them into an agricultural adventure. Although these two families both lived in Cape Town, they did not know each other and had no known mutual friends. Yet God was up to something. 

To cut a long story short, Ant and Lynn bought the farm. Brad and Anne felt convinced there was a new calling to steward a piece of land somewhere and resigned from their role In Cape Town. A mutual friend connected the two families who met via Zoom in the middle of the Covid craziness. Now the two families, the Robinsons and the Andersons, have partnered together, seeking to create a God-honouring farm where people and relationships are strengthened and restored. A farm where nutrient dense food is produced, healing both people’s bodies and the land. That dual mission is the heartbeat of our farm. 

We describe Wellspring as a small, regenerative, family farm and retreat, where you can escape from the hustle and bustle of life to reconnect with God, yourself, other people and creation. 

All too often the pressures and busyness of life tends to overshadow and crowd out that which is truly important. At Wellspring, we want to invite you to lift up your eyes, take deep breaths and return to the things in life that really matter. 

On the farm you can try milking one of our dairy cows by hand, feed pastured chickens, collect eggs, or help to move our sheep to new pastures. Enjoy connecting deeply, seeing far, walking freely, and gazing at the night sky before resting in our restored farm accommodation and campsite. There are rope swings to be swung, dams to be swum, clear springs to be explored and a forest with giant trees to be enjoyed.

We farm using regenerative agricultural principles, so our farming methods are very different from the majority of farms in South Africa. Our passion is to see the farm as a living ecosystem that we steward and manage towards a state of vibrant, complex flourishing. We desire to see the land improving each year that we work it. This is the core objective of regenerative agriculture – farming in such a way to restore and renew the environment. At the root of it, it all comes down to the soil – if we can nurture and grow living, carbon rich soil full of biological life, then that healthy soil will lead to healthy plants. Healthy plants will lead to healthy animals. Healthy animals produce healthy food. And truly healthy food results in healthy people.

Towards this goal of regeneration we use a number of tools or principles:
High intensity rotational grazing that encourages our animals to eat indiscriminately (not just their favourite foods) followed by a long period of recovery for the plants before being grazed again.
Prioritize ground cover and roots in the ground wherever possible so that life can flourish beneath the surface.
Avoid any chemicals or sprays that have devastating effects on soil biology.
Minimal tillage, so we do not routinely disturb the soil with ploughs or rippers.
Embrace biodiversity by not locking into one monocrop, but including as many diverse species of flora and fauna. 

No agriculture is ecologically neutral – the way we farm either degrades or restores the environment. This means that every mouthful of food we eat is an ecological act. We are all farmers by proxy and our buying choices endorse the agricultural practices of the farmers producing what we eat.

We are convinced that we have a timeless mandate to steward the earth towards its flourishing as a holistic ecosystem.