These days, it is almost unthinkable that any new farmer will have the financial means to buy a farm in the Franschhoek Valley of the Western Cape, as farms here go for from R1 million to more than R2,5 million per hectare, according to transactions in the past 12 months.
Paul Siguqa, however, did just that when he bought Klein Goederust for R12 million with money he saved over 15 years while working in the print media. And to make his story even more extraordinary, Siguqa is the child of a farmworker.
He grew up at Backsberg Wine Estate in Simonsberg, where his mother, Nomaroma, initially worked in the vineyards, and later in the wine cellar where Hardy Laubscher taught her to make Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) sparkling wine, something she did for 37 years.
Yet, having a farmer in the family was never part of Nomaroma's vision for her children. “My mom vowed she would be the last of her
