MAGOEBASKLOOF: Meet the eccentric McMahons

An eccentric family in Magoebaskloof is pioneering the extraction of essential oils from an indigenous plant in the area.

Julie McMahon says their oil distillation company, Thomac Essential Oils, extracts the oil from a Helichrysum splendidum plant.

The company’s name is a combination of Julie’s maiden name, Thompson, and her husband, Mark’s family name, McMahon. The business was started by Julie who had a keen interest in medicinal plants since childhood. “I would collect indigenous plants and ask the employees on the farm what they were used for,” said Julie. “My mother was a nursing sister, so the interest in the mixture of botany and natural healing was born there,” she added.

Clifford, Julie’s father, dabbled in essential oil extraction later in life which started the ball rolling. One of the deciding factors to continue to develop the oils was to protect the flora on the four hectares on their property.

“After my father passed on, my husband and I continued to experiment with steam extraction of several indigenous oils. With patience, hard work and perseverance we are able to do it,” added Julie.

Fortunately for Julie, her children, Toblan and Tamla, have the same love for nature as their parents.

“I am sort of a pioneer parent, I teach my children everything they need to know in order to survive in this world.

“When I was five, instead of going to parties with friends, I would be roaming the farm looking for plants,” said Julie.

At school she was labeled the weird kid, up to a point where teachers said that she had Down’s Syndrome.

The oil has multiple uses and is known to relieve asthma, psoriasis, migraines, insect bites, eczema, increases lymph drainage and detoxification of the liver and acts as a de-stresser that encourages sleep.

Mark is in charge of the distillation process.

“It has been an epic journey so far with many ups and downs, but I am very happy with the profession that we chose all those years ago. It is something different than the normal farming practices in Haenertsburg,” said Mark.

“We sell the oil to brokers who export it internationally, but we want to start exporting the oil ourselves. We do distribute oils locally,” he added.

The business has four employees who harvest the plant. It is then dried and refined into oil. Plant rests are used to make manure.

Toban, a mushroom expert and beekeeper, is responsible for harvesting the plant.

Tamla does the administration of the business and also helps with harvesting.

“I studied horticulture at Tshwane University of Technology.

“I chose it because of my family’s background in botany and my love for plants. It is useful for the future of the farm and business. I am able to apply my knowledge,” said Tamla.