Young Afrikaners return to isolated town as urban costs soar
Young Afrikaners find cultural refuge in isolated enclave as city living becomes unaffordable.
Thomas de Villiers left Orania as a young adult, drawn to the cosmopolitan energy of Cape Town. Rising living costs in the sprawling city pulled him back to the arid Northern Cape town where he had spent his childhood. Now 31, he runs Stokkies bar, where young people gather on Friday nights under blue light, country music drifting through tobacco smoke. His story embodies a pattern taking hold in the whites-only Afrikaner enclave: people departing, then returning.
Charlotte van Niekerk, 22, knows this cycle well. She grew up in Orania between ages four and 14 before her family moved to outlying farms. When she came back to work in marketing, she noticed something striking. “Lot of kids that grew up with me can’t wait to be 18 so they can just leave this place,” she said. “But it’s funny because they go away and then a lot of the time they just come back after a couple of years when they’ve seen it’s not so wonderful out there.”
Additional reference context is available at https://www.africanews.com/2026/06/04/south-africas-white-enclave-drawing-more-young-afrikaners/.
The town was founded in 1991 in the Northern Cape province and now counts just over 3,000 residents. This year it marks its 35th anniversary. For a generation of young Afrikaners, though, Orania has become something else: a destination, not just a place to escape.
The shift owes much to a training college that opened in 2019. Nearly all of its 250 students arrive from elsewhere, selected on the basis of ethnicity, religion, a strong work ethic, and a clean criminal record. Town spokesman Joost Strydom says the college plans to expand to 800 students within four years, with dormitories under construction to house them. Few students are likely to remain after graduation. Jobs are scarce, and Hopetown, the nearest significant town with 10,000 inhabitants, lies 40 kilometres away. Yet while they study here, they spend money at petrol pumps, minimarkets, and bars like Stokkies.
David Loock, 21, came from Pretoria and found the social rhythms different. “We go fishing in our free time,” he said, showing a photograph of a catfish pulled from the adjoining Orange River. Motocross fills the days too. For Divan van der Westhuizen, 19, the shift from sprawling Johannesburg, some 600 kilometres to the northeast, felt profound. “It’s been a big change coming from where you mingle with a lot of people,” he said. “It did me good to be back with my own people, the Afrikaners.”
The appeal runs deeper than leisure or cost of living. Orania offers something young Afrikaners say they struggle to find elsewhere: cultural continuity and a sense of belonging. Doret Le Cornu, 23, moved to the town three years ago and found what she describes as refuge. “This is a place where we want to build on that culture and not lose it,” she told AFP. “We are the majority here, without having to fear that there are a bigger majority around us.”
For Cara Tomlinson, 25, the difference is felt in small moments. “Orania is a place where you can be yourself,” she said. “In your house you can just lay down on the couch, watching TV. But at a stranger’s home you should sit upright, talk to them nicely, and I think that’s the difference.”
Meanwhile, the broader context is hard to ignore. Orania’s residents represent only a fraction of South Africa’s Afrikaner population, estimated at around 2.6 million of 62 million people in 2022. The Afrikaner minority led South Africa through much of the apartheid era’s stark oppression of the black majority, who only gained the vote in 1994. The establishment of the new “rainbow nation” prompted some Afrikaners to fear for the future of their culture and language. Observers have drawn parallels between the enclave’s pull on younger people and the appeal of MAGA conservatives in the United States and European far-right parties, both of which have attracted younger demographics in recent years.
While thousands of Afrikaners are drawn to US President Donald Trump’s offer of refuge abroad, young people like Le Cornu and van der Westhuizen have found their answer in a small town on the margins of the country they call home. Whether Orania can absorb a growing generation of returnees, or whether most will eventually drift away again, remains the question the town has yet to answer.
Q&A
Why are young Afrikaners returning to Orania?
Young Afrikaners cite rising living costs in cities like Cape Town and Johannesburg, combined with a desire for cultural continuity and a sense of belonging among their own community. The town offers what they describe as refuge from feeling like a minority in broader South African society.
What role has the training college played in Orania's growth?
The training college, which opened in 2019, has brought nearly 250 students from elsewhere, selected on ethnicity, religion, work ethic and criminal record. The college plans to expand to 800 students within four years, with dormitories under construction. While few students remain after graduation due to scarce jobs, they spend money locally during their studies.
How do returnees describe their experience in Orania?
Returnees like Doret Le Cornu and Divan van der Westhuizen describe finding cultural safety, belonging and the ability to be themselves without fear of being a minority. They cite leisure activities like fishing and motocross, and appreciate the social rhythms and cultural continuity the town offers.
What is the broader context for Orania's appeal to young Afrikaners?
Afrikaners represent about 2.6 million of South Africa's 62 million people. The apartheid era and post-1994 transition prompted some Afrikaners to fear for their culture and language. Observers have drawn parallels between Orania's appeal and the attraction of MAGA conservatism in the US and European far-right parties to younger demographics.