Four years ago, Stefan and Francisce Gerber were sitting on their farmhouse stoep near Loeriesfontein overlooking the natural disaster of the ongoing drought. They analysed the impact it had on their animals, staff, even on their personal believes and positivity, and braved the challenge.
This business decision in starting up Gerber & Co at that point in time was probably not the brightest of ideas, but rather, out of pure desperation, the only way in acquiring a means for the survival of their sheep operation in Namaqualand. “Today, when looking back, it is a dream came true,” says Stefan.
“We are the type of people that rather try one more time before cutting our losses. We had a responsibility to our animals and workers. We looked at our cost of feeding and overheads and on top of that also lost 21% of our wool clip the day it leaves our farm,” says Stefan.
Since Stefan is a winemaker and Francisce a qualified chef, they both decided to turn their expertise in their respective fields unto the production of priced wool garments.
Gerber & Co also transforms raw produce at Soefija’s Deli into delicious and mouth-watering dishes and cakes – a lovely setting to enjoy good coffee. All these products, Boer and Brit wines and many more are now available at their Farmstalls in Bitterfontein, Simondium, as well as the Spice Route.
Nature’s Miracle Fibre
The Namaqua Merino is arguably Nature’s most extraordinary gift to Gerber & Co as the wool is rated a better product, and perfectly engineered material for the manufacturing of woollen garments.
When considering each fibre of merino wool, it is a cunning crimp which creates the unique ability to ‘breathe’. It also tapers moisture away from the body to the outer layer, where it can evaporate, making it anti-microbial, odour resistant and wrinkle-free, which means, it stays cool in plus 40⁰C summer temperatures, and warm in sub-zero winter temperatures.
When considering the natural elasticity, it is discovered that Merino wool can absorb up to 30% of its own weight in water, and will not sag nor stretch. Merino wool is also anti-static, stain-resistant, flame-proof, bio-degradable and hard-wearing. This is the type of character that makes the Namaqua Merino wool the ultimate performance fabric.
Producer of Fine Clothing
What started off as a typical Namaqualand Merino sheep farm, has now over the past few years developed into a farm producing fine clothing. Gerber & Co is a cut above the rest in its field, locally produced by their own trained staff at affordable prices – no middle man and nothing imported. Gerber & Co’s business module was based on washing the wool by hand and at the same time extracted the lanolin. This brought them to the point of seeking a more sensible way of doing the washing to meet their demands. On the other hand, the wool monopoly and the sudden closure of scouring plants, (the place where wool is washed), left them with a very limited chance of ever obtaining any success. Today, two years later their first locally manufactured jerseys were made available in their first store in Bitterfontein alongside the N7 enroute to Namibia. Presently they are in the process of establishing their own washing plant and manufacturing their own yarn in Bitterfontein.
Products – The Gerber & Co Clothing Collection makes out the greater part of their product range on display, which includes merino jerseys, cotton stilled shirts for both men and women, as well as a variety of felt hats and caps – not to mention their own Lanolin products. What makes the Gerber & Co trademark so special is their approach to add value –utilizing every possible part of the merino in producing different garments, and sheepskins perfectly tanned with fleece, not to mention their lamb pies. As the demand for Gerber & Co’s products have grown, they took the leap in opening more stores. The Old Kooperasie Stories warehouse in Simondium, as well as Spice Route in Agter Paarl has over the past 5 years been on their radar. What is interesting is that the farmstall concept expresses their believes for honest and better homegrown products. Once the Gerber & Co sheep has given you the jumper, it simply grows another.
Skin Hygiene and a beautification product – The by-product lanolin, nature’s way of protecting the sheep’s wool and skin from the extremes of climate, is well known as a product which plays a vital role in human skin hygiene. Gerber & Co’s Lanolin is 100% organic, gently extracted from their hand sheared Namaqua Merino’s, refined, and stability tested to the most exacting standards, before made available to the trade.
“We strive as our mission to make all our goods in South Africa. Due to the effect of Covid-19 pandemic on the liquor trade as well as the tourism industry, our businesses have relied on local and sometimes only provincial trade. We had to build a community loyal business. I am immensely proud of our achievement, since none of the 168 workers which were directly and indirectly employed have been retrenched. We have kept our staff and their families alive,” says Francisce.
August is the perfect time to visit Namaqualand. Bitterfontein which forms part of the Succulent Karoo biome, with over a 1000 species is a must see. While on your trip to experience the Namaqua flowers, visit the Gerber & Co Farmstall and see for yourself – Merino fibres are much finer than other wools and always feels wonderfully snug, feather-light and most definitely itch-free on your skin.
For more information contact us on www.jsgerber.com or [email protected] | Follow us on Instagram @gerber_and_co | @gerber_and_co_farmstall
