Babylonstoren

Babylonstoren's recorded history as a colonial farm begins in 1692, when Cape Governor Simon van der Stel granted the land to Pieter van der Byl. Vineyards were planted and watercourses altered to irrigate the land, beginning the agricultural story that continues today. The wider Drakenstein Valley, however, had been inhabited by Khoisan communities for thousands of years before European settlement, an important earlier layer of the landscape's history.

Over the centuries, a traditional Cape farmyard — or werf — developed around the estate. Its historic structures survive as one of the most intact examples of Cape Dutch farm architecture in the Winelands, including the manor house dating to 1777.

In 2007, Karen Roos and Koos Bekker bought Babylonstoren, initially imagining it as a private weekend retreat. Both had grown up on farms, and Roos — formerly editor of ELLE Decoration South Africa — became fascinated by the property's unusually intact architecture and agricultural history.

Rather than simply creating a hotel, they began bringing the farm back to life.

Roos invited French garden designer Patrice Taravella to create an eight-acre productive garden inspired partly by the historic Company's Garden in Cape Town, which once grew fruit and vegetables to provision ships travelling around the Cape. Today more than 300 edible or medicinal varieties grow here, supplying the farm's kitchens throughout the year.

The historic buildings were approached with similar care. In the manor house, Roos even removed 23 layers of paint to uncover the original ochre wall colour beneath — an indication of how seriously the restoration has treated the accumulated history of the farm.

Babylonstoren's approach begins with keeping a historic farm productive rather than preserving it as a museum.

Its Cape Dutch buildings have been restored with close attention to their original fabric, while the werf, farm structures and agricultural relationship between buildings and land remain legible.

The landscape is actively managed too. Babylonstoren protects areas of indigenous renosterveld, part of the Cape Floral Kingdom; maintains habitats for bees and other pollinators; composts food waste back into the soil; and has introduced water-saving irrigation that it says has reduced consumption by 50%. No municipal water is used for irrigation.

Solar power is being expanded across farm operations, while produce that might otherwise be wasted is preserved or reused in kitchens.

Importantly, the farm also describes its relationship with the surrounding Boland community as part of its responsibility. Its educational initiatives include a learning centre intended to support the children of employees.