Jasmyn Farm Stall: A Peak Agri-tourism Experience

A simple farm stall with fortunate success or an intricate play of business acumen, entrepreneurial skill and persistent team effort? Jasmyn Farm Stall in Hartbeespoort is an undisputed beacon of achievement as a farm, a tourist destination, restaurant and store. ShowMe delved deeper to find the key ingredient for its unmitigated growth.

Jasmyn Farm Stall Harties

The brothers Erasmus will admit to nothing more than being ‘simple boertjies’ (Simple Farmers), but the truth behind the successful operation of Jasmyn Farm Stall is an ingenious mix of retail experience, formal tertiary qualifications and solid family values.

John Erasmus, late founder of Jasmyn Farm Stall, originally ‘retired’ to a small farm near Rustenberg with his wife and three sons. The farm had a small farm stall on it and from these humble beginnings, began the realization of the iconic symbol which is Jasmyn. The family outgrew the first farm and moved to the Hartbeespoort area to plant what is now Jasmyn Farm Stall and The Windmill restaurant.

John Erasmus came from a retail background. At one time he worked very closely with Raymond Ackerman (Pick n Pay) and became one of the first Spar Franchisees in South Africa. Running a small corner cafe Spar, Erasmus soon learnt to provide his consumers what they wanted! At at time when a Green Grocer provided fresh produce, a Baker bread and confectionery, a Butcher meat products, John Erasmus created a ‘one-stop shop’ to give his customer exactly what he/she needed. Today, Jasmyn continues in this tradition: the farm grows the products shoppers want to buy. As an outlet venue, the Erasmus’s also encourage and motivate surrounding farmers to plant the produce they know their consumers are looking for.

Jasmyn provides shoppers exactly what they want: from fresh farm produce, dairy products and deli specialties to a well stocked book store with new and second hand books and CD’s”

Three Brothers Engineered to Farm

The eldest, Desmond, took an engineering degree. Derick a journalism qualification and Raymond an agricultural diploma…but all three profess to being farmers going on 30 years. How do these seemingly unrelated tertiary qualifications cultivate a produce powerhouse?

Desmond worked for Clover Dairies shortly after qualifying as an engineer. After witnessing the extent of the dairy process, he brought Dairy to Jasmyn. Jasmyn maintains a small herd of over 300 Jersey cows and sells over 8,000 liters of milk a day in the shop (Jasmyn produces cheeses, yoghurts and other dairy products in a facility designed to allow tourists to witness the process.) and sells surplus milk to Clover Dairies.

Having people watching your every move, you have to maintain exceptional standards. It also, interestingly, means we have almost no losses!”

For the journalism student, Derick, a single lecture influenced his farming outlook. Based around the book “Future Shock” by Alvin Toffler in which the author discussed an individual and societies psychological state of overwhelment after ‘too much change in too short a time’, the strategy process behind Jasmyn is about Slow, Consistent Growth. Jasmyn refuses to be driven by the demands of economy or visitors or consumers…Jasmyn is about ENJOYMENT. If everyone ENJOYS what they do, the business can only grow with a good attitude and feed the next generation of Erasmus’ (thirteen grandchildren at present) and visiting shoppers.

At Jasmyn, it is important that we all love what we are doing. That is, for us, the only indication of success.”

Farm Stall at Jasmyn

Youngest brother, Raymond carries a farming qualification. From Raymond, the farm has shifted its produce to a consumer inspired crop on a rotation basis. Primarily growing fresh vegetables (pumpkin, marrows, spanspek, watermelon, brassicas, sweetcorn, lettuce and onions.), Figs have been introduced and are now used in the Jam and Preserve Factory on the farm. Manure from the herd of cows are used to fertilize the crops and pigs are fed too, reared for slaughter and sold in the butchery in the shop.

Nothing is wasted. Surplus is used in other applications (such as feeding the pigs) and we try and maximize what we have to its greatest potential.”

The Windmill: A Tribute to Euro-technology in Africa

The towering windmill which stands as a beacon in Hartbeespoort is a tribute to the European influences in Africa, a symbol to the technology which has enabled Africa to advance as it has. John Erasmus was born to a Greek merchant mother, his wife of a Dutch merchant. The windmill, although taken by the Dutch as a symbol of their culture, originated in the Mediterranean and spread through Europe as a technologically advanced power source. The windmill at Jasmyn is not only home to The Windmill Restaurant, but an emblem of the fully integrated farm economy at Jasmyn, at the forefront of agri-tourism and consumer needs in Harties.