The magnificent Amatalo Mountain range is the perfect backdrop to the Shire Group’s successes to date, its diversified product portfolio lending heavily off founder Rob Scott’s sustainable business vision.
Just like the peaceful and fertile vales of The Shire in JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the Shire Group calls the afro-montane forests of Amatola Mountain range home too, visitors swearing seeing hobbits!
The Shire Group, headed by entrepreneur Rob Scott, is based outside Stutterheim in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province.
Despite the formal start in 2003, the Shire Group’s birth was many years prior when Rob joined long-time friend and mentor Cameron McMaster on botanical hikes through the Amatolas.
The area is home to the second largest indigenous forests in South Africa (second only to the Tsitsikamma forest in Knysna), with the forested mountains home to endemic flora and fauna.
The rich trove of forests, mountain streams, ancient Yellowwood and Stinkwood trees and Cape floral variety left an indelible impression, the ideas garnered there later becoming the Shire Group.
Experience the Shire
Rob Scott’s vision is a seamless blend of business, stewardship, and philanthropy with a vibrant, off-grid enterprise ensuring diverse income streams to drive higher-order priorities.
Those include creating jobs, uplifting the wider community, broadening sustainability, and raising a family – all within the welcoming and spectacular fold of the Shire.
A brief stint at a plant nursery during a gap year in the UK rekindled Rob’s passion for botany with visions of him repeating this in SA laying the foundation for start of the Shire Eco Lodge and Shire Bulbs in 2003.
Flowers
It was during the construction of the Shire Eco Lodge that Rob first grew bulbs from Nerine, Haemanthus and Scadoxus seeds.
The Shire Bulbs’ initial successes quickly duplicated into further expansion, with the current bulb production site now comprising 4 shade houses and expansive open beds.
The site now produces over 150 species of indigenous bulbs that are shipped to customers worldwide. The international acclaim is proof of Shire Bulbs’ successes to date.
But it’s about far more than the monetary value of bulbs for Rob.
“Many of the plants we grow are threatened, and so in addition to the conservation and protection of wild populations, I’ve prioritised the conservation of the rarer species through cultivation,” Rob says.
The Shire Group also partners with Fruit and Trees for Africa, a leading Section 21 Non-Profit Organisation that addresses food security, environmental sustainability, and greening.
Shire Bulbs has grown and distributed fruit and indigenous trees to communities across the country, greening them and demonstrating the value of conservation agriculture.
Respite for tired travellers
The development and aesthetics of the Shire Eco Lodge also reflect Rob’s sense of place, form, nature, stewardship, and business.
The design of the chalets that Rob built takes its cue from nature, their flowing organic shapes contrary to traditional design, the experience enticing guests to visit and boost the Shire Group’s bottom line.
“I wanted the design of the chalets and their location on the margins of the indigenous Xholora forests to be a win-win for all.
Our guests get to experience this unique location to revitalise tired spirits. At the same time, The Shire and local communities benefit from tourists visiting and job opportunities created,” Rob continues.
Artisanal sawmilling
During the building of the Shire Lodge chalets, Rob reflected on the value and freedom that artisanal sawmilling would give him.
Rob’s reliance on sawn timber from suppliers during the construction of the Shire Eco Lodge sparked the idea of getting his own sawmill to produce sawn timber.
Rob’s dream of owning a sawmill was further strengthened by the unusual widths and thicknesses needed for the chalets’ curved and bent components.
Reliance on suppliers, custom sizes, and lengths all come at a premium, which is money Rob knew he could have saved if he had his own sawmill.
He also built the interior clad of each chalet from invasive species such as Australian blue gum and black wattle, which was again sourced from contractors at a cost.
In response, Rob invested in a Wood-Mizer LT15GO, which now allows him the freedom to move the sawmill to wherever it’s needed to cut fallen hardwoods and invasives into customers sizes and lengths.
The bulk of it goes to Rob’s furniture manufacturing shop for use in custom pieces sold to discerning customers, with the rest sold as custom blocks, slabs and boards to diverse customers across SA.
Rob’s contract with Mercedes-Benz in nearby East London is a further impressive part of the sawmill. Components arriving from Germany are shipped on pallets with heavy spruce stringers.
Rob has the first choice on these stringers. The exquisite, fine-grained spruce is ideal for high-end cabinetry, which Rob uses in his own projects or sells to willing buyers from across SA.
Organic farming
Organic farming is another arm of Rob’s vision to harness business as a tool to inculcate greater sustainability, community upliftment, and self-reliance.
To that end, he partnered with his mother, Monica Scott, to produce organic fruits, vegetables, and crops that are sold and delivered free of charge to nearby communities in need of fresh produce.
A part of the crop goes to Rob’s household, but importantly, “we have an abundance that we like to share with the community to ensure that they also benefit from the bounty that we have,” Rob says, smiling.
Sawdust and chips from the furniture shops are also used as animal bedding for Rob and Monica’s geese and duck flocks, which are allowed to roam free to rid the crops of pests.
The rest of the waste is sold to nearby farmers, who use it to improve the health and well-being of their animals again.
Final take
Forging a business far off the beaten track with reliable income streams that remain constant over time sounds like an impossible dream.
Rob Scott’s The Shire Group is proof that innovative, entrepreneurial thinking with a heavy dollop of doing good can work – Rob and his young family thriving in the Shire is proof that it can work.
