A farm workers' rights organization has accused the owner of Plaisir Wine Estate in Paarl of employing illegal tactics to evict elderly retired workers and their families from land they have occupied for decades, highlighting ongoing tensions over post-apartheid land rights.
The Women on Farms Project warned this week that Rose Jordaan, who purchased the Western Cape property from Distell in 2021, is attempting to remove nine families of former farm laborers to make way for luxury accommodation development.
"Over the past couple of years, she started with threats of evictions and there was already three illegal evictions" at the farm, said Carmen Louw of the NGO. The organization notes that Jordaan has previously faced court action, with one ruling requiring her to restore residents' rights after an illegal removal.
Resident Resistance
Sheila Absolon, 39-year resident of Plaisir whose father worked on the farm, expressed defiance at the eviction notice demanding families vacate by month's end: "We are living 39 years on this farm. It's not right. We're not moving."
The residents are elderly retired farm workers and their descendants who possess legal protections under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, which safeguards long-term agricultural workers from arbitrary eviction. The law recognizes their historical vulnerability and aims to prevent displacement from land where communities have lived for generations.
Farm worker advocates describe the Plaisir case as emblematic of broader struggles over land justice three decades after apartheid. While the democratic government promised land redistribution and worker protections, implementation has been uneven and contested.
Land Reform's Unfinished Business
South Africa's agricultural sector remains marked by stark racial inequalities rooted in colonial and apartheid-era dispossession. Farm workers, predominantly Black, often live in precarious conditions on land owned by predominantly white commercial farmers. Protections exist on paper but enforcement depends on worker knowledge, legal resources, and political will.
"These families are not squatters—they are people whose labor built these farms over decades," said Colette Solomon, director of Women on Farms Project. "Their rights are protected by law, but farm owners frequently ignore those protections."
The alleged luxury development plans reflect a pattern seen across prime agricultural areas of the Western Cape, where wine estates attract tourism investment that can displace long-term worker communities. Balancing economic development with historical justice remains a central tension of post-apartheid land policy.
Jordaan did not respond to requests for comment. Her legal position is unclear, though previous court rulings suggest the evictions may violate tenure protections.
Systemic Challenges
Advocates for farm workers describe a consistent pattern: new owners acquire properties, seek to "clean up" worker housing areas for redevelopment, and employ various tactics—from cutting services to outright threats—to pressure residents to leave.
"In South Africa, as across post-conflict societies, the journey from apartheid to true equality requires generations—and constant vigilance," Louw said. "Land justice is central to that journey, but it requires defending workers' rights farm by farm, case by case."
The Women on Farms Project has vowed legal action if the evictions proceed, and has called on the Western Cape provincial government to intervene. Provincial officials have not yet commented on the case.
For Absolon and other residents, the fight represents not just housing but dignity and recognition of their families' contributions over generations: "This is our home. My father worked here his whole life. Where do they think we should go?"
