Barrydale Online

A fabulous book launch was held in Barrydale at the BF Oosthuizen School recently. ‘Steek My Weg’ is a collection of writing and paintings by 27 young people in the after-school not for-profit-organisation,  Net vir Pret,   and takes its title from the name given to Smitsville after the forced removals of the 60s. Twenty of these young people interviewed older members of the community who had once lived on the other side of the hill, and recorded their nostalgic memories on paper.  Seven young painters, under the guidance of Barrydale artist, Herman van Wyk, produced beautiful images of Smitsville which are reproduced in the booklet.

The launch was well attended by the children’s families as well as loyal Net vir Pret supporters from Barrydale.  Particularly welcome was the presence of Mr Blanckenberg Head of the Department of Social Development , Caledon branch, as well as the Dutch  funders from the after-school n.g.o. SA Foundation  who have enthusiastically supported Net vir Pret for several years.... Continued

With the equinox behind us, there is an autumnal nip in the early morning air, an invigorating change after the hot days we’ve endured over the past couple of months.  The garden birds are looking sprightly too, most of them sporting fresh new feathers.  The sugarbirds have left us to go back to their Protea bushes on the mountain slopes, and the Greater Striped Swallows will also be departing soon for their equatorial break.  So this time of year sees a decrease in the variety of birds in and about the village.  Many of the species that find their living on and around water have also departed, having been forced to vacate the region as the farm dams have dried up. They will return quickly enough if substantial rains replenish the water levels and top up the water table so that the streams and the river can begin to flow again...

On Monday evening, 8TH March Jenni Trethowan of “Baboon Matters” (Cape Town) gave a most informative presentation of Baboons, with a number of pro-active and peaceful measures that could be taken to minimise the encroaching baboon situation.

Enthusiastic debate followed, the meeting was filmed and recorded by CNN International News, and the residents were advised of the monitors training programme currently underway.

The monitoring training programme was completed successfully on Friday 12 March, with a team of 11 monitors ready to begin their shifts on Monday 15 March. Training included classroom lectures, practical identification and classification of baboons, bush craft and ecology of the mountain, and above all, field training and techniques on how to keep the baboons out of Barrydale.

The proposed schedule for the first week of monitoring is as follows:

"Barrydale itself is a lovely little town nestled among the mountains - a refreshing retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life. Which is why it is fast gaining popularity as a breakaway or retirement spot for the rich and famous. As is often the case with these hip country towns, Barrydale sports one supermarket, no pharmacy, and about 20 restaurants. Weird".

BRA has  requested Municipality to replace the rubbish bins on the northern side of the village with baboon proof bins and  to arrange for the garbage collection on Thursdays to first load from the northern perimeter of the village, thereby reducing the exposure time of the garbage to the baboons.

Jean Bittkau of Klei'n Karoo Pottery writes "The Polystyrene Packaging Council has a project on the go whereby they will donate a wheelchair for breadtags which they then recycle. We would need to collect about 3½ black bags full (which is a tall order but I think worth a shot). For example, if the wheelchair costs R1350 we will need to collect 270 kg of bread tags to be sold at R5 per kg.

 I would like to alert readers of Barrydale-Online to the collection box which is placed on the table at OK at the bread display. Its so easy to pop the little tags into one's handbag and simply deposit them when going shopping. 

Apparently Fish Hoek police reservist Beth East donated 3 wheelchairs already in rural areas from collections in the area". Jean says she would be happy to liase with the Polystyrene Packaging Council and deliver the tags to Cape Town.

Not able to sit quietly for long, Emma Schoeman, after resigning as BRA Chairman, is starting a DA (Democratic Alliance) branch in Barrydale. Emma is looking for at least 50 members to kick off. The membership fee is a mere R10.00, though of course donations are most welcome!. The branch must be formed by mid April so contact Emma right away for more information. Emma says "Please, if you live in Barrydale and Cape Town (or somewhere else other than Barrydale), consider registering here to vote because here every vote counts and you will probably want to come and retire in Barrydale".

Contact details: 028 5721122.  E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Carol Morris is finally at home in her delightful "straw bale house". Though not new to alternative building methods (Carol had the Mud Gallery built in 2002), she said there were many challenges in the building of the house. The first challenge was to find the right straw - rice straw is best but not readily available - so wheat straw was chosen. The problem was that most farmers nowadays bale their hay in huge round bales and what Carol needed was smaller square bales. After much searching the correct bales were sourced from Caledon. All was well, the bales were secured but then unseasonal rains rotted them all. In order to get more straw (it must be straw, not hay), Carol was forced to wait another year for the next crop.

Brian Hansen built the main structure according to plans by architect Andy Horn of Eco Design Architects. Michael Jameison of Barrydale did the finishing touches to the house.

Straw bale structures are warm in winter, cool in summer and, Carol says, "they have a lovely feel to them". It is however important to make sure that the bales are tightly packed and that they do not rest directly on the foundations to make sure moisture is not sucked into them. The bales are covered in mud and finally have a lime plaster which allows permeability and which preserves the structure.