Clinic
The Desert Fruit Clinic opened in March 2017, and was visited by Namibia’s Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration Hon. Minister Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana on 18 October 2017.
This clinic allows us to provide our employees with basic health services, delivered on-site by a well-trained, registered nurse.
Registered nurse Rachel Goraseb has over 20 years’ experience within the government sector. She does a daily check-in at the crèche—a visual and physical inspection of each child.
The clinic is a free-of-charge service that the company provides its employees. Further steps are taken when Nurse Rachel is unable to assist employees with health issues; including company provided transport to a clinic in the nearest town that is able to provide the necessary services.
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Shop and Butchery
At Desert Fruit we are committed to the best possible welfare of our employees. We do our best to ensure that we have healthy employees who benefit from and are committed to the farm’s growth.
Because we are situated 65km from the nearest town, we originally established and staffed a farm shop to help employees purchase day-to-day staples. We have since expanded our product line to include fresh vegetables and meat – both of which are sold at “cost.”
Farm-grown vegetables provide a variety of choices for employees, and ensure that they have easy access to a healthier, balanced diet.
The on-site butchery slaughters and prepares our own livestock to supply fresh meat to employees and their families.
We are currently selling more than 1200kg of organic beef to our employees.
Transport to and from Karasburg (175km from the farm) is provided to employees at the end of each month.
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Water and sanitation Programme
Desert Fruit is committed to providing employees with easy access to basic sanitation facilities and clean running water. Stations are built in each of the date orchards on the farm, with each station providing running water, toilets and basins.
In the Press
New product line for Desert Fruit Namibia
Desert Fruit Namibia, one of only a limited number of date producers in the Southern Hemisphere, has begun to harvest Khalas – a new product line and staple for Date Growers in the Middle East. Seth Holmes, Managing Director of DFN explains: “Traditionally, Khalas is a staple in the date markets as a naturally dried date. We have been able to develop this date as a fresh and Ruthab variant. The intense heat, dry conditions and granite soils of Southern Namibia have allowed the fruit to develop high sugars [...]
Desert Fruit celebrates Creche graduation
Desert Fruit Kids crèche proudly celebrated their 2nd graduates on 11 December 2018. These children are ready to join Grade 1 at school next year and some of them will embark on their journey at the Ariamsvlei Primary School. Principal Forbes of the Ariamsvlei Primary School said she looked forward to welcoming the new scholars who have been prepared well in the Desert Fruit Kids crèche. Suzette Smit, Crèche Headmistress advised that the primary aim of the crèche was to provide employees’ children with a safe haven during the day [...]
New fresh Bahri season set to increase output
Desert Fruit Namibia is one of only a handful of known producers of Fresh Bahri Dates in the Southern Hemisphere and these dates, while relatively unknown in Europe and the US, remain a sought-after delicacy in the Middle East with rising demand from the Muslim Asian markets. Managing Director Seth Holmes advised that Desert Fruit Namibia was expecting a marked increase in production output as they focused on this unique date. “Our focus has been to increase quality and date size - pushing the envelope of the delicacy market. The [...]
Unique delicacy Dates exported by Desert Fruit
During the last season, from January to March, Desert Fruit Namibia has proudly produced high quality Barhi dates. These have just been exported to Abu-Dhabi, Dubai, Indonesia, Maldives, Singapore, UK and Switzerland as well as the royalty houses in the Emeritus, which is a great honour for Desert Fruit Namibia. Charles Edmonds of Desert Fruit Namibia was pleased with the harvest in 2018. He elaborates: “Barhi is a unique fresh date eaten in a fresh state before it is naturally dried. It is regarded as a delicacy in the Middle [...]
Desert Fruit invests in Technology
Desert Fruit Namibia, a Namibian-registered private company producing dates and bulbs on the banks of the Orange River, proudly revealed new technology in the form of Date Cage Harvesting, attached to new Manitou telehandlers. This new equipment has been designed and implemented in association with the Namibian company Expert Mining Solutions. Seth Holmes, Managing Director explains: “We are proud of the new technology which enhances our output and contributes towards a more effective and efficient operation. The new cages can carry up to 6 people and hold more than one ton of produce before needing an [...]
Desert Fruit assists local community with Fire-fighting
21 May 2018 Desert Fruit Namibia assists local community with fire-fighting Desert Fruit Namibia (DFN) has converted a construction water truck into a vehicle with fire fighting capabilities. The truck, which has off-road capabilities has been fitted with two fire hose reels which work off hydraulic pumps and can carry 18 000 litres of water at a time. Seth Holmes, Managing Director of DFN: “Initially the truck was supposed to have been used at our farm in the event of trees, houses or buildings catching fire, but we became aware [...]
Farm
Pack House
Social
Crèche
Desert Fruit Kids plays a critical role in our community development commitment on the farm. We strive to create spaces and places for holistic education for the children, and create employment opportunities for people living on the farm and surrounding settlements. In early 2017, the crèche employed two women who live in the local community and bring special skills to this learning environment. These ladies have interpreting skills and are able to speak two to three different languages, which helps the children feel more comfortable, and makes for easier communication between teacher and child.
The primary aim of the crèche is to provide employees’ children with a safe haven during the work day when their parents are engaged in other activities on the farm. We believe that creating a caring and loving environment will help children to mentally engage, emotionally mature, and be more open to learning as they grow up. Providing a good education, having fun, making friends, preparing for primary school and developing life skills are all pillars of our Desert Fruit Kids commitment. An on-site sister provides health care at the crèche every morning with visual inspection.
We currently have 38 children attending the crèche and plan to grow in size and quality every year; thus creating more educational opportunities for the children, and additional employment opportunities for local adults.
Headmistress Suzette provides education for pre-school children to equip them with the basic skill set necessary to attend primary school in Ariamsvlei or Karasburg.
Teacher Maria van der Byl provides a loving learning environment for children ages 4 – 6, providing them with the necessary skills to move on to the pre-school class.
Teacher Maria Imaneul’s playgroup consist of 2 – 4-year olds. She not only provides a loving environment for play and exploration, she also places a strong emphasis on teaching her students good behavior and prepping them for their next class.