Agritourism Tours
We provide Rural and Agritourism Tours to visitors willing to explore Africa’s rural heartland. Educational, adventure and fun immersive experiences are amongst the most common requests from like-minded visitors around the world.
We work with African Rural Communities, respectfully observe African Animals and honour the beautiful natural environment we proudly call “Our Home”.
Africa is a Continent waiting to be explored.
Send me an email with all your requirements and relevant information if you would like us to coordinate an itinerary or a tour guiding service.
As an example of an Agritourism specialised tour to meet rural farmers, Dr Leanne Seeliger and her team are responsible for organising and offering this informative tour.
The Story of Lynedoch Agro-Ecology Farm
It all started with a couple of agricultural and social researchers disillusioned with the way in which their decades of research in communities did not have the full desired impact.
While there were promises to communities of upliftment and some success stories – it was not enough. Given the impact of climate change and food insecurity in Africa – we wanted to reach more, without destroying the very land we needed to survive
We knew we needed to get out from behind our desks and spend more time on the land with farmers, but we also knew the farming community did not have much faith in academic solutions.
Living from harvest to harvest is a lot riskier than a desk job by a government funded institution. And that they will tell you themselves!
So, we changed our model of research from investigating agricultural problems for farmers to co-creating technical and social solutions with farmers.
We also started networking with other like-minded researchers in Africa and Europe. We found some champions working in various government institutions who supported us and European funders who believed our vision of an African bioeconomy led by small scale farmers.
Now, a couple of years on – we have partnered with Stellenbosch University, the Farmer Production Support Unit in Stellenbosch and are jointly running an 8-hectare farm co-creating agroecology and regenerative agriculture solutions for small farmers within a 30 km radius of Stellenbosch.
The first “new model” research project is the European Union funded DIVAGRI project (divagri.org) which is a consortium of 16 research partners from Europe and Africa that are co-creating seven biotechnologies with small farmers at agricultural research centres in Ghana, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
I won’t lie – the road has been bumpy in Lynedoch. Not all farmers here share our vision. Not everyone at research institutes thinks that our participatory action research methods are “real” research. Some government officials and funders have ignored us. And what’s more, not all our partners have stayed with us on the journey.
But, here at Lynedoch Farm, we are starting to see success. We have restored the packhouse on the premises, adding a roof and are busy with University of Stellenbosch funded plans to start an Agro-Ecology Training Centre to serve small scale farmers in the Western Cape.
Our flagship desalination greenhouse is gaining international recognition with our European and African partners wanting to replicate it elsewhere. We are also attracting highly qualified young women and men who have recently graduated and want to share their expertise with small scale farmers.
If you would like to book a tour to our visit our Lynedoch Agro-Ecology Centre contact Dr Leanne Seeliger on leanne@agritourismafrica.com
Meet your Guide
Dr Leanne Seeliger is an environmentalist with a passion for people living in Africa’s rural areas. With a background in environmental ethics, she is deeply concerned about the ways some agricultural activities negatively impact on local environments, leaving communities without sufficient resources to survive sustainably. She sees agricultural tourism as one of the ways in which rural communities can diversify their offerings on farms and protect the environment, they rely on to survive. But it is not just about economics, it is also about identity and being proud of being part of rural Africa and celebrating this internationally through tourism. She believes the African continent and its people has for too long been written off as “third world” when their cultural heritage, their land and their very essence should be celebrated as first class. Dr Seeliger offers a bespoke agricultural tour of Lynedoch Farm in Stellenbosch where she and her colleagues run an AgroEcology Training Centre both teaching and learning from small farmers about the bioeconomy in rural Africa.
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