parents, Pieter and Magdalena Fortuin have
been on this farm since 1991. After school
I went to study further at Boland College
and then had a few jobs, mainly working in
customer service in shops, before deciding I
wanted to work on the farm on which I grew
up.” Fortuin says that she works on accounts,
wages, filing and HR-related tasks and very
closely with her colleague Hannelien Briekwa
who does admin for Elandsrivier farm. “I enjoy
being here on the farm”, Fortuin says, “it is
close to my family and my daughter Quinique.
It is also wonderfully quiet and peaceful.”
Lakeview, like all farms that have their fruit
packed and stored by Two-a-Day, has its
apples and pears marketed through Tru-Cape
Fruit Marketing.
As the largest exporter of South African apples
and pears, Tru-Cape, which is owned by the
growers of Two-a-Day and Ceres Fruit Growers
and procures fruit from other growers in areas
such as the Langkloof, is indirectly responsible
AgriKultuur |AgriCulture
through the successful sale of South African
apples and pears for the livelihoods of more
than 24,600 people in the Elgin, Grabouw,
Vyeboom and Villiersdorp valleys.
Farm manager, Michael Jaarson says: “Knowing
that we have a star such as Christel Fortuin
taking care of the admin, HR and the finance
aspects of the farm means that we can focus
on growing the best apples and pears which
will earn the highest prices in the market. I
must credit Two-a-Day for recognising early
on that Christel, among many others, would
benefit from exposure to high-level training
and skills.”
Tru-Cape’s managing director, Roelf Pienaar
says that the company is always glad to hear
positive stories about farms that grow Tru-
Cape fruit but a story such as this one about
how a child of farm workers has developed
and flourished and is living their potential is a
remarkable one.
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