Groundcover
Transportation Company in Howick

Groundcover Leather Company was founded in 1990 by Justin and Amanda McCarthy.
It took us nearly a year to scrape back generations of paint and reconstruct the house — we adapted the plan to suit its new function, but stayed true to the architectural style of farmsteads and trading stores of the time.
We believe that the education of young people — our future workers and leaders — holds the most promise for social and economic transformation in our community and our country.
We subsidise the cost of school fees, books and extramural activities of our workers' children, and provide them with school transportation.
From small beginnings we have grown into a sensibly sized, sustainable enterprise and have become well known as makers of original, finely handcrafted leather footwear and accessories.

From small beginnings we have grown into a sensibly sized, sustainable enterprise and have become well known as makers of original, finely handcrafted leather footwear and accessories. The single most important reason for our success has been the people who make up the Groundcover family. We have been working with one another for a very long time. Don Tully, with a lifetime of experience in the leather industry, has taken over as the Manager. Groundcover has always strived to be a progressive and socially responsible enterprise. Most of our workers have been recruited locally, and many live on our farm. We subsidise the cost of school fees, books and extramural activities of our workers’ children, and provide them with school transportation. Amanda runs a homework and study class for 15 primary and secondary schoolchildren. Amanda is also the long-serving chairperson of the Currys Post Educational Trust, an initiative of local residents that helped establish, and now manages and raises funds for, two primary and two pre-primary schools in nearby communities. Since the beginning, we have offered our customers the opportunity to swop their shoebox’s for a free keyring, allowing us to re-use the cardboard boxes over and over again. Most people are happy with this exchange, and we send them on their way, with their shoes (and keyring) packed in a brown paper bag. We have placed bins outside our shop and factory to separate glass, paper, plastic and cans. Our organic waste is composted for our veggie garden. With the exception of our imported Italian soles, all our raw materials are sourced from local suppliers to minimise the carbon emissions from transport. In 2010, Earth Patrol was brought in to develop Groundcovers sustainability strategy, and to perform an energy audit of the shop. This report has given us a baseline, from which to plan our short and long term goals for the whole Groundcover farm. The building itself is recycled, having originally been shipped from Germany to South Africa over 100 years ago to a farm in Creighton.In 1992, it was dismantled and trucked to Groundcover where it took over a year to reconstruct. Harvesting rainwater lessens the burden on our natural water reserves, and will supply our shop with all its’ water requirements in the summer months. The surplus water will be used for irrigating the surrounding gardens.The grey water from the basin and bath will be fed through a pebble bed directly into the landscape.We plan to take our lighting in the shop off the grid, by placing solar panels on the roof. We will have a back up connection to Eskom for rainy days, and a meter to monitor energy use, so that we can adjust sizing of the system. The long term goal is to take the whole shop off the grid. Groundcover operates in a pristine environment, and we strive to compliment this environment by leaving a legacy that protects our land, water and people. Many centuries ago, a very special breed of cattle arrived in southern Africa. Nguni are a favoured breed among the indigenous peoples of the region.