My image of a typical African farm is a house with a large veranda around it, a cement dam/reservoir and a windmill next to it.
A huge tree nearby, usually a thorn tree.
My friend Heinrich takes it a step further with an Aga coal stove in the kitchen with a pot of coffee brewing and an auntie preparing Sunday lunch.
He dreams of slow-roasted leg of lamb, yellow rice, roast potatoes and sticky braised pumpkin with brown sugar.
Naturally ended off with a healthy helping of sago pudding and coffee on the veranda.
Alas, everything is changing with the advent of technology and so too does the face of the romantic rural countryside.
Now all we see are solar panels and security cameras at almost every farm road entrance.
Farm roads are no more quiet country lanes, with most having manned and unmanned access points to what are termed conservancies.
There are endless miles of either high game and/or electric fences.
This is not good news for my dentist, whose pastime is photographing windmills in various guises on his travels.
When he showed me a few pictures on his phone, he unintentionally planted the seed in my mind and whenever I travel I consciously and subconsciously take note of windmills.
One thing that I have noticed on my travels is that I am seeing fewer windmills in pristine condition and more solar panels and pumps near reservoirs and elsewhere.
I have further noted that many of the old cement reservoirs are crumbling and are being replaced with corrugated structures and water tanks.
This has led me to question if, just like a letter, a typewriter or fax machine, a windmill is a historical relic that has fallen into disuse with the advent of modern technology.
As I have seen at many a farm stall, they are used as a form of decoration or attraction.
I did some research using Google and other search engines.
Danie, an expert windmill technician, claims that though the costs of solar and windmills are not far apart, with the increasing costs of metal piping initial installation costs are becoming higher in the case of windmills.
The solar pumps use plastic piping, which is cheaper.
The pros and cons lie in initial costs, maintenance time, longevity of each and the turnaround time on repairs, thus downtime.
An interesting fact he shared with me is that the traditional windmill is mostly used for providing water for farm animals.
Though he did note that he worked on one farm which had enough capacity to irrigate with windmill water.
The younger farmers I spoke to have all been using electrical and now solar pumps as long as they can remember and have not even considered going back to the classic windmill.
Besides, as one farmer put it, he can control his irrigation and pumping on his phone on an app, even if he is on holiday away from the farm.
In areas where at times (winter) there are insufficient sunshine hours, especially on cloudy days, alternatives are considered.
There are systems which have wind generators that can be used for water extraction and battery charging at the same time.
There are, however, still those die-hards who will persist with windmills, and backup generators using the classical “cannot be destroyed” Lister engine for power generation.
For my friend Heinrich, there is a revival of the Aga stove, with many enthusiasts acquiring one for show or their braai areas.
The only problem he now has is finding the “auntie” who can still cook a traditional “Boere” Sunday lunch.
This week in history:
1998 and 1999: On the same day two years in a row, veld fires rage in the Plettenberg Bay area.
Dam Levels:
69.68% slightly down from previous week’s 69.79%. Impofu down to 51.27%.
Weather Safety Tips:
When there are warnings out for gale-force and damaging winds, be careful where you park your vehicle. Avoid parking near trees or unsound structures.
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The Herald
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