Tolstoy Farm: Reflective progress and future plans for a historic site
The Mahatma Gandhi Remembrance Organisation, Javie Ravjee, Mohan Hira, Draveena Lakhoo, and Dharam Pachai have been steadfastly committed to keeping the teachings and principles of Mahatma Gandhi alive to date.
Tolstoy Farm is a ground-breaking site for the history of resistance movements in South Africa, whose impact reverberated internationally.
The site has an association with the life and work of the late Mahatma Gandhi, who founded the site together with Herman Kallenbach.
After Kallenbach purchased the farm in 1910, he generously made it available to the Satyagraha Movement (passive resistance).
The Mahatma Gandhi Remembrance Organisation, Javie Ravjee, Mohan Hira, Draveena Lakhoo, and Dharam Pachai have been steadfastly committed to keeping the teachings and principles of Mahatma Gandhi alive to date.
Also, the support of the community and Mahatma Gandhi’s followers made the development of Tolstoy Farm possible.
What have they achieved from 2019 to 2023?
In 2023, the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation installed the two iconic blue plaques that belong to the series ‘Johannesburg City Heritage’ by the city of Johannesburg. The friends and family of the late Rising Sun Lenasia manager, Raj Maharaj, placed a plaque at Tolstoy, in remembrance of his passing. A seven-foot statue of Mahatma Gandhi was brought to the farm to honour Gandhi.
Various groups from different departments visited Tolstoy Farm to plant fruit trees. The reasons behind fruit planting differed according to the occasion. Still on the planting note, the Mahatma Gandhi Remembrance organisers, the caretaker, and some visitors planted vegetables and distributed them to the community.
In November 2022, the library and museum were officially inaugurated at Tolstoy Farm after years of fundraising to turn the historical site into a heritage site. That followed the construction of the perimeter wall and the building of toilets. The year 2021 saw the building of the caretaker’s house. In 2019, the busts of the late Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were installed at Tolstoy to honour them.
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What are the future plans?
With the help and support of the community and various organisations, the Mahatma Gandhi Remembrance Organisation aims to rebuild Gandhi’s old house, as the only thing left is the base with stairs. They also want to start skills development programmes such as cooking classes, agriculture, crocheting, and more. In the coming years, they want to build up a primary school.
What would they like to maintain?
Tolstoy Farm is situated in an open veld 2km from Lawley station, and there is no electricity, as it’s not surrounded by formal dwellings. There is also no tap water supply- water is accessed from a borehole. Funds need to be raised to pay workers assisting with the farm’s maintenance. Lastly, they hope to get more books for the library. The Mahatma Gandhi Remembrance Organisation is requesting those, who would like to get involved, to contact Mohan Hira on 073-705-7126 or Javie Ravjee on 084-205-5795.
