In a nation where racial segregation has been outlawed, Orania is a town that is exclusively white. Orania appears to be any other small town in rural South Africa from a distance. But once inside, the difference is immediately noticeable to the visitor.  And in a nation where menial labour is typically performed by Black people in affluent areas, White people here use leaf blowers, mop supermarket floors, and harvest pecans.

This anomaly’s origins can be traced back to 1991, when apartheid was nearing its end. White Afrikaners, who are descended from Dutch colonisers from the 17th century, purchased 8,000 hectares (19,000 acres) of land along the Orange River in the sparsely populated Karoo region. They established a privately owned town that has so far only admitted whites using the autonomous status provided by the post-apartheid constitution.

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The population of Orania has increased by almost a factor of ten in the present, and the country’s economy is booming. Old Cape Dutch-style homes coexist with contemporary townhouses, divided by thin or nonexistent walls but kept in tidy condition. On the well-kept streets, adults jog freely and children ride bicycles. At construction sites, tiny orange, white, and blue flags the South African flag during apartheid flutter in the afternoon wind.

Residents claim they are not nostalgic for the apartheid era but rather a community pursuing “freedom with responsibility” because they are sensitive to accusations of racism. According to them, this refers to a community free of crime, power outages, dysfunctional local government, and other issues plaguing South Africa at the moment. 

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In wealthy suburbs throughout South Africa, black people perform manual labour in a predominately black population. Orania, however, claims that it has abandoned labour practises from the colonial and apartheid eras.

Orania operates independently from the national government and is granted the right to self-determination under the constitution of South Africa. Its own currency, the ora, is paired 1:1 with the rand. In a nation that is heavily dependent on coal and is experiencing an energy crisis, the town is also attempting to achieve energy independence through solar. Prospective residents are screened and required to be clean.

Asserting that Orania was neither “racist” nor a “desperate grasp back to apartheid,” he said prospective residents had to “share the values and subscribe” to the town’s objectives. There is nothing stopping any non-white Afrikaners from applying, according to Boshoff, but no one ever does.

According to spokesman Joost Strydom, Orania’s population has increased by up to 17% annually in recent years, and the number of new businesses increased by 25% in 2021.

Other communities are asking, ‘How can we learn from you?’ all of a sudden, he said. Some traditional royal emissaries from the Xhosa and Tswana ethnic groups were in town on a “diplomatic” visit when AFP journalists were recently in Orania. Gaboilelwe Moroka, 40, chief of the Barolong Boo Seleka, a Tswana ethnic group in the neighbouring Free State province, said: “Whether right or wrong, there is a success story in there somewhere.”

She said, “It’s unfortunate that these issues have become overly politicised. 

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According to Strydom, the population of Orania has recently increased by up to 17 percent annually, and in 2021 there were more new businesses established. Other communities are asking, ‘How can we learn from you?’ all of a sudden, he said. Some traditional royal emissaries from the Xhosa and Tswana ethnic groups were in town on a “diplomatic” visit when AFP journalists were recently in Orania. “I had to go; it was necessary. There is a success story in there, whether it is true or false “said Gaboilelwe Moroka, a 40-year-old Tswana chief from the neighbouring Free State province and leader of the Barolong Boo Seleka.

She said, “It’s unfortunate that these issues have become overly politicised. Afrikaners created Orania, according to Boshoff, the grandson of apartheid’s creator Hendrik Verwoerd, because they were in need of a place to call home. According to Boshoff, a right-wing lawmaker in the national parliament, “every African tribe or clan has a place of its own that they use as a reference point.” He stated this after preaching at a Dutch Reformed church on a Sunday morning and claiming that Orania had “become part of the South African landscape.”

According to Sandile Swana, a specialist in municipal governance, private towns like Orania are not unusual. You’ll see more of these, Swana predicted.

As a prerequisite, “Orania’s only distinction is that they have chosen their own ethnic background and culture.” Kleinfontein, another town with only Afrikaner residents, is located about 30 kilometres (18 miles) outside of Pretoria, the “Rainbow Nation’s” capital. Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, worked tirelessly to bring the bitterly divided nation together.

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In 1995, he paid a visit to Orania and had tea with Verwoerd’s widow. In the unassuming white house where Betsie Verwoerd spent her final years, there is memorabilia neatly arranged, including the white teaset they drank from.

Ranci Pizer, a 58-year-old ex-government employee who moved to Orania from Pretoria in December, stated outside the church that she appreciated having more social interaction with neighbours on the streets. It’s a place where I can be myself and express my culture, she said.

A collection of statues donated by people who no longer wanted anything to do with Afrikaner history after the end of apartheid can be found a short drive up a hill.