Many books can be written about the farmer’s ingenuity. One of the gifts typical of farmers is the ability to use any item in various ways – even for tasks for which it was not made. The truth in the saying of “a farmer makes a plan” still applies to big and small farmers today.

Thomas Linders is a small-scale farmer with a unique project on his farm, Waaipoort, near Rosendal in South Africa. He operates a permaculture research centre that tests the ability of various plants to prevent erosion. Soil erosion is a major problem in the Rosendal region close to Lesotho.

He believes in organic farming and his project is part of WWWOF (World Wide Workers on Organic Farms). The centre also grows its own organic vegetables. Thomas believes in using only the best materials in his projects and he knows Bonnox fencing. “We used it in Midrand near Johannesburg in the early 90’s in a construction project,” he says.

“When we arrived at Waaipoort, we had a lot of problems with stray animals from other farms. We lost our entire vegetable crop during the first winter. We quickly had to make a plan to find a fence that could be erected easily and promptly.

“I bought 200 m of Bonnox’s Money Saver, which is 1,4 m high. We erected four strong corner posts and the gate posts with wooden poles every ten metres,” says Thomas. “We use volunteers from around the world in the Centre and we were able to quickly set up the fence. We bought the Bonnox clamp bar which made installation easy and found it very useful.”

Thomas plans to enlarge the vegetable garden and also to get  alpacas, sheep and goats. According to him, Bonnox’s fence can contain any adventurous goat.

“In permaculture we believe that anything we add to the system must have at least two or three uses,” he says. Therefore, Bonnox fencing doesn’t only keep out unwelcome animals. The fence also serves as support for fibre sponge cucumber vines. The fruit of this crop is used in soups, or as a natural sponge, or ground and mixed with concrete to produce lightweight bricks. “Later we also want to plant specific plants along the Bonnox fence so that it can run up and grow out to provide a living fence,” says Thomas.

Thomas bought another 100 metre roll of Bonnox to serve as vertical support for the runner vegetables. “I arrived at Bonnox’s factory in Sunderland Ridge on a Friday afternoon just as they were closing for the weekend. Without a fuss the people immediately unlocked the factory and assisted me very cordially. The Bonnox factory is very well organised and tidy, and the presentation of their products outside is very interesting and informative.”

Bonnox mesh wire is perfect for the running crops, and it also provides a strong support for the overhead bird netting that keeps the birds and bugs out. “We let our English cucumbers, pickles and tomatoes run up against the Bonnox wire. In winter, the peas and snow peas do the same so that we can have an early spring crop ready.”

Thomas still has problems with hares crawling through the wire, but next time he will buy the fence with the smallest squares at the bottom.

“Although this is a small-scale farming operation, we can use the durable and versatile Bonnox in various ways,” says Thomas. He is also considering on the idea of using Bonnox to build erosion control cages …

It is extremely easy for Thomas Linders and a volunteer to erect Bonnox fencing around the Waaipoort Permaculture Research Centre’s vegetable garden using a Bonnox wire clamp.

Bonnox fencing is very versatile. Waaipoort Permaculture Research Centre also uses it as a prop for their tomatoes and other runner crops.

Call +27 (0)12-666-8717, +27 (0)76-169-9068 or e-mail linda@bonnox.co.za, gerda@bonnox.co.za or zane@bonnox.co.za. Also visit their website at www.bonnox.co.za.