De Hoop Cottages

Area Info

The name "Laaiplaas" has got two possible origins: One is that the hunters of yesteryear used this location as a place to load (laai) their muskets for the hunt before the walk into the mountain started.
The other one is that the farm is quite hidden behind the koppie which reminds one of the small hidden drawers (laaitjies) of antique dressing tables.

The farm was originally used for grazing under the old grazing permit system. The first Deeds of Transfer were registered around 1907 which is also the year in which the main house was built. After changing owners a few times, the farm has now been in the family since 1965. The first farmers survived the initial development stages of their vineyards and orchards by planting Calabash as a cash crop. The dried calabash were in demand for various household items such as bowls and dry goods scoops and small ones were used for darning socks, but the main demand was to produce quality necks for Calabash smoking pipes. Later when the calabash became less popular the main crops were fruit, which was mostly dried for export, or sold to jam factories, and wine grapes which the farmers had to process into wine in their own cellars. This system lasted until large co-operative wine cellars, driven by the escalating cost of production, became the norm. Today the farm produces mostly fruit and a bit of vegetables.

Still to be seen on the farm is the old wine cellar from the years of cultivating vines, and the old stable where sheep, a few cattle and a few horses were kept.