Stone Renaissance

Here's an interesting concept: A group of businessmen take on unskilled labourers, teach them the ancient art of stonemasonry and provide the building industry with both sandstone and the men who can build with it. It's a perfect circle of sustainability in which everyone wins. The labourer who had only his hands to offer now has a valuable and enduring skill. The men who trained him - and others like him - can grow their business and realise their vision. And rounding it off are the clients, those able and willing to pay for something unique - a house built of stone, superbly crafted from the most desirable natural material on earth.
The company is called Sandstone of the Earth (S.O.T.E.) and is literally the realisation of a dream for its founder, Fred Brown. About five years ago he had a prophetic dream about the work he believes he has been called to do. His mission is to give the poor hope and a future by giving them a trade, and it was his first business partner who conceived the idea of reviving the dying art of stonemasonry using God-given material. The right people and opportunities miraculously dovetailed and Fred soon had a company of men, each bringing with him the qualifications and experience necessary to give the venture wings. Among them are quantity surveyors and architects, men with financial management and marketing skills, building site foremen and even a geologist. They currently have a pool of about 60 skilled stonemasons and are continually training newcomers to the trade. The majority of the stonemasons are Xhosa and Sesotho - Lesotho being the birthplace of many of the traditional stonemasons who built the magnificent sandstone farmhouses found throughout the Eastern Free State.

S.O.T.E.'s stonemasons work in teams under an elected leader and the chain of command is simple. S.O.T.E. secures the contracts, consults with the clients and their architects, and determines the extent and style of stonework required. They also source the right type and quantity of stone and ensure its delivery to the site on time. The site foreman liaises between the client and the team leader, who in turn directs the stonemasons and ensures that the job is completed to specification by deadline. The site foreman monitors the progress of the work and supplies whatever the stonemasons require on site, but it is the team leader who takes responsibility for his crew. "It's a system designed to encourage responsibility and to develop human resource management, among other skills," says Fred. "It is also about serving one another. The site foreman serves the client and the team leader, and the team leader serves his team."
When the stone arrives on site, it is semi-dressed, or in other words, roughly cut into more or less regular shapes. The stonemasons spend the first few hours of every working day selecting each piece for its perfect placement, carefully dressing it and then finally fitting it precisely into place. In most cases there is no mortar visible between each piece of stone, unless the client has specified otherwise. The mortar is applied to the back of the stone to affix it to an internal brick wall and create the stone facade.
Over the past three years S.O.T.E. has completed almost 150 building contracts, ranging from simple fireplace surrounds and single feature walls to entire buildings. The company recently opened an office in George, having first established itself in Somerset West in 2000. The impressive list of completed work in the Western Cape includes many of the golf estates, such as Arabella, Erinvale and Steenberg, as well as wineries such as Glenhurst and Asara in Stellenbosch. They have also built numerous private homes in the Western Cape as well as in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. Magnificent showcases of their work in this area are the Plattner residence at Fancourt, House Stewart at Pezula, House Cloete at Sparrebosch and House Bateman in Plettenberg Bay. In each case, the stone used was carefully selected to conform in colour, shape and size. In completely different style is the chapel at Carmel Guest Farm, a Christian retreat near George. With roughly dressed stone, S.O.T.E. built a simple and utterly beautiful place of worship, poised on the edge of a hill with a long view down the valley to Victoria Bay.
Opening an office in the Southern Cape was prompted by demand - not only from wealthy clients building new homes in what is fast becoming the Riviera of Southern Africa, but also on the part of S.O.T.E. which is seeking to expand its vision. The company has been looking for land in the area on which to establish a training and development centre, and which will also provide S.O.T.E. with its own stone. The company currently sources stone from various areas throughout the country which is then tested in Stellenbosch for durability and usability in different locations. As S.O.T.E.'s geologist Anton Aukamp explained, "The type of stone used in a particular location has to suit the prevailing conditions. For example, although there is plenty of sandstone in the Oudsthoorn district, we can't use it to build at the coast because that stone is only suitable for dry heat conditions." After thoroughly exploring the garden route, S.O.T.E. has discovered suitable stone deposits and is moving ahead with its plans to establish a permanent training centre.
"We are living the dream", said Fred, "and it is a privilege to be creating buildings of lasting quality and beauty for our clients, while also making an enduring impact on the lives of the men who put each stone in place".
For more information call 021 855 5753 for Cape Town office or 044 874 1106 for the George office.

Lindsay Stewart