Population of Afrikaner Town Orania Rising

ORANIA, SOUTH AFRICA MAY 2: A family uses a small electric vehicle from Eleksa to shop in the local supermarket on May 2, 2023, in Orania, South Africa. Small electric vehicles are popular in the town and some have solar panels attached so they never need to be charged with electricity. Orania was established in 1991 after the purchase of private land, that was formally a government worker village for the nearby construction of Vanderkloof Dam. The intention was to build an Afrikaner stronghold, where Afrikaner culture and religious values can be practiced and preserved. Today's Orania has risen tenfold in population, and it is seen as a boomtown in South Africa, where the economy in the rest of the country is stagnant due to electricity production problems, corruption, high unemployment and lack of good education and service delivery by the ANC led government. Orania is buzzing with construction and sign of new housing, roads and small businesses can be seen everywhere. Only white Afrikaners (or if you speak Afrikaans) are allowed to live in the village, and people arrive daily to seek work and try to settle. This has increased lately since the electricity problems and economic problems just seem to get worse in the country. Every person who wants to settle in Orania has to go through a process and be approved. Farming used to be a big source of income in Orania but its minor now as tourism and small businesses such as supermarkets, restaurants are seen everywhere. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)