Kakamas

Kakamas is a town founded in 1898 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River.Originated as at a place where the Orange River could be relatively easily crossed. The spot was first known as Bassonsdrif. In 1898 a proper settlement was established and under the auspices of the Dutch Reformed Church the area was developed as an agricultural spot. It became a municipality in 1954.HistoryThe small town of Kakamas was built on the sheer hard work and determination of a couple of impoverished stock farmers at the end of the 19th century. The drought of 1895–97 was followed by an outbreak of rinderpest, leaving many farmers destitute.In 1897, the Dutch Reformed Church started a "colony" on the farms Soetap and Kakamas on the banks of the Orange River for white people who had lost everything as a result of the drought.Ignoring the criticism of qualified engineers about their building methods, the farmers continued to construct the water canals by hand that are still used today to supply the town and surrounding area with water for irrigation. For their efforts, they were each awarded the right to one of the irrigation plots. The men worked extremely hard even taking the yoke themselves, rather than wasting precious time in launching a time consuming search for oxen and donkeys grazing somewhere in the veld.The exceptional dry piling of the stone along rocky slopes can still be seen today. By dry piling instead of excavating through rock, the farmers were able to cut the overall costs of the canals considerably.