Al-Qalam 
By Ismail Suder
The allure of tin-roofed farm shops dating back to the early days has always fascinated me.
So when I stumbled upon a quaint farm store in the hinterland of the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast – owned by a Muslim family – I was naturally delighted.
Built over 100 years ago by a farming family in the Oribi area and only a stone’s throw from the famous Oribi Gorge, the Maryland Store is today owned by the Rawat family, who have been running the shop for 47 years.
The shop’s appearance, like something from a Wild West movie or even a remote trading post in the Australian outback, attracted me. There was no city rush here—life evolves at a slow pace in this part of the world.
The Maryland Store is located on a corrugated road, about 150m from the entrance to the beautiful Lake Eland Game Reserve.
As a young, newly married man, Khalil Ahmed, owner of the farm, bought the property when the area was surrounded by forests and sugar plantations. He loved the peaceful setting of the place and was prepared to leave his hometown of Port Shepstone and settle here. He approached the owners of the farm to sell, and they accepted his offer.
Since then, the land on which their property stands has been extended for as far as the eye can see. If you stand at the back of their property and look outwards, you will be astonished by the stunning vistas of undulating hills and valleys and a sizable dam stocked with bass.
His son, Mohammed Rawat (32), is currently rearing sheep, goats, and cattle. He also has a brood of chickens for eggs and a garden growing a variety of vegetables.
Many people from the Port Shepstone area, 42km away, come to his farm to buy sheep and cattle for Qurbani. There is an on-site butchery with a huge cold room located in one of the sheds, where Qurbani meat is sliced and packaged.
But back to the shop: The store was recently renovated, and a new tin roof was installed, but it still retains the old-world charm of days gone by. With a bit of chit-chat, it turns out Rawat and his wife know my family well. What a small world this is!
Rawat showed me around. You can find literally anything here, from huge Cast iron pots to bicycles and tyres to basic medicine.
For visitors booked at Lake Eland Game Reserve or any of the number of resorts in the area, you won’t go hungry if you forget to pack food items.
Here, at the Maryland farm and store, you are bound to get fresh halaal meat, frozen paratha and even samoosas.
Khalil Ahmed’s wife, Salma, could even hook you up with some delicious sandwiches if you require.
But for me, the fascination was walking through the farm shop and being intrigued by so many things packed on the shelves or hung up on the walls around the farm store. It was also the comforting musty farm store smell – a fusion of timber, paint, blankets, tyres, cement and a million other things.
It reminded me of a farm store my family once owned in Danhauser decades ago where, along with the customers, a chicken or a goat would casually wander in to find a scrap of cabbage leaf or mielie seeds lying around. This is one such place.
“It was hard work rebuilding this farm shop, but it was well worth it. I primarily cater for farmers and their workers in the area, not to mention residents of a small township a kilometre away. Our days start after Fajr, and there are always things to do…or fix,” he said.
Muhammed, his son, tells me that he has big plans for the farm. He wants to create a petting zoo, a 4×4 track for off-road enthusiasts and a camping site. He also plans to put up a few rustic cottages along the dam area where people can also fish.
The vistas from the shop are astounding. The green hills and valleys peppered with grazing cattle and the sounds of birds made me understand why the Rawats gave up urban life for this.
As I was parting ways, I casually asked where I could find a bit of fuel for my Suzuki Jimny 4×4.
“Yes, we keep that too – in 5l containers,” Rawat (Snr) said with a satisfied smile.
