Inside Orania — South Africa’s Whites-Only Town

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In early June, Joost Strydom, CEO of the Orania Movement, gave The Daily Caller a tour of the Afrikaner-only city of Orania and responded to international criticism of the city.

You won’t find a Walmart or a Starbucks in Orania, but the small town in South Africa’s Northern Cape province boasts its own schools, currency, businesses and language, all aimed at preserving Afrikaner culture and creating a place of self-determination.

Although the idea had been around for a while, Orania was officially established in 1991 as a place where Afrikaners — a segment of South Africa’s white minority — could make their own decisions, build their own institutions, and do their own labor.

The exclusion of other races and cultures to maintain this goal has drawn criticism from home and abroad.

Leaders in the South African Economic Freedom Fighters Party — whose president, Julius Malema, infamously chanted “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer”— called in April for a review of Orania’s legality and constitutionality, according to IOL.

Strydom told The Daily Caller that this action was “disingenuous,” as Malema had visited Orania in the past, and as Article 235 of the South African Constitution guarantees the right to self-determination.

Strydom said their Afrikaner-only policy was not about segregation; it was about protecting the Afrikaner way of life.

“We are a unique people, we have our unique history, we have a unique origin story, we have a unique language, and we are a Protestant/religious people,” Strydom said.

He explained that people of different races, creeds, and cultures were welcome to visit, but they would never be considered “part of the people trying to build something for the Afrikaners here.”

One way Oranians uphold this standard is by doing their own labor, no matter the task.

While critics may raise concerns about Orania limiting job opportunities to Afrikaners, residents see it as a badge of honor.

“Everything we do, we do ourselves,” Strydom said.

He explained that this policy has a threefold purpose. First, labor is a noble pursuit and a form of sacrifice to God. Second, if they do not perform their own work, then they can never truly be free. And finally, “no one can say that Afrikaners exploited me to build their dream,” Strydom told The Daily Caller.

Strydom acknowledged that “the elephant in the room” was the historical exploitation of “cheap black labor” by white South Africans. He said that Oranians’ willingness to get their own hands dirty was not a sign of racism but a symbol of equality.

Because they choose not to rely on outside labor, Orania invests heavily in the education of Afrikaner youth.

Oranian children are taught math, history, and science in Afrikaans, the Afrikaners’ native language.

After graduating, they can attend the city’s trade school, where they learn masonry, plumbing, agriculture, child development, or electrical engineering alongside other non-Oranian Afrikaner students who, Strydom said, do not get the same opportunities elsewhere because of racial admission quotas.

One of Orania’s primary missions is its pursuit of energy independence.

As the head of Orania’s energy sector, Riaan Jacobs, showed The Daily Caller around the city’s solar plant, he said they are currently at 45% of the city’s energy goal. However, they are producing enough to reduce the effects of the South African government’s load-shedding, where energy is cut off completely to manage costs.

Jacobs said their quest for energy independence is not just about self-reliance but also about self-determination.

“If you’re not energy independent, you’re not politically independent,” Jacobs said.

Orania’s infrastructure will have to continue growing to meet the city’s goals.

Part of this initiative involves being very deliberate about where they spend their money. Strydom pointed to the gravel streets throughout the city and said that they work just fine. He argued that it would be a better use of their money to invest in better internet capacities, which could attract more income, and that paved roads can wait.

“Orania is a plane you’re trying to build as you fly,” Strydom said.

Strydom said he hopes to use the city’s 3,000 population to lay the foundation for 7,000 more Afrikaners who may soon seek refuge in Orania from racial persecution.

Strydom said Orania could function as an alternative to Afrikaners applying as refugees to the U.S., as referenced in Trump’s February executive order. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Trump Admin Hopes To Bring ‘Thousands’ Of Refugees From South Africa By Late Summer)

“I don’t want to stand in the way of Afrikaners choosing to emigrate, choosing President Donald Trump’s offer, but I would like to contribute to creating a viable alternative here,” Strydom said.

Sam Busà, an organizer with the Amerikaners movement for South African minorities seeking American immigration, was more skeptical of Orania’s intentions. “I don’t think they’re happy with the refugee program even being in existence, because clearly it would be optimal for them to have as many people of their culture remain behind,” Busà said.

Strydom emphasized that his ancestors had been in Africa for 100 years before the U.S. was even founded and that moving to America would result in losing their identity as a culture, as they would become Americans.