Coote’s Cape Classic; NO LONGER AVAILABLE

BORN:
30.10.1950 COLLEEN WOLFE-COOTE
JOHANNESSBURG

EDUCATION:
-SCHOOLING
CAPE TOWN HIGH SCHOOL: Matriculated 1967
Chairman Debating Society
White House Captain
Prefect
-UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
BATCHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE (BSC)
MAJORING IN: PURE-MATHS & COMPUTER SCIENCE

-POST GRADUATE
ASSOCIATE OF THE INTITUTE OF ACTUARIES (AIA) U.K.



WORKING CAREER:


SA MUTUAL : Actuarial Development -4 years
NORWICH UNION: Actuarial Development
& -12 years
Pension Fund Valuation
SANLAM: Pension Fund Valuation
& - 10 years
Marketing(Manager Broker Services WC)
SELF- EMPLOYED:

ENSEMBLES CC set up – See attached ENSEMBLES PROFILE for details
Enterprise Description

The Ensembles Enterprise has been established for the purposes of:
- Job Creation (for the indigent & unskilled unemployed)
-Nature Conservation (of the natural biodiversity of the area)
-Eco and Other Tourism
*Cheval Vapeur operates as a Tourist Facility with self-catering cottages on the active Horse Farm in seasonal wetlands(Cape Flats).
*Coote’s Cottage is a Multi-Functional Self-Catering Venue in Kenilworth.
*25 Gibson Road is a Self-Catering Accommodation Venue in Kenilworth – Currently operating as a Drug Rehabilitation Centre, Ixande.


COMPANY PROFILE
Ensembles:

Sleeps a couple, another + baby
Classic 5 roomed unique Cape Cottage built in the 1800’s
In Kenilworth, the heart of Cape Town, minutes to Kenilworth Race Course, famous Royal Cape Golf Course. Easy, quick access to Cape Town attractions: Table Mountain, Rhodes Memorial, Botanical Gardens, Groot Constantia, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, Wine Routes, restaurants etc.
Ideal for entertaining and special occasions. Fully equipped, serviced daily.
Secure lock up and go.

Built in the late 1800’s, Coote’s is an original and unique Cape Cottage.
With unemployment being such a mammoth problem in South Africa, we felt we could make something of a contribution by taking one person at a time and making an investment into their skills development. With this in mind, we tried identifying what opportunities exist using unskilled labour. We saw a gap in the market, via woodwork, restoration and tourism.
Coote’s is at the corner of Goldbourne and Wargrave Road, Kenilworth. This was where we started. This corner has had many an identity from corner shop to butchery and a few things in between. Having set eyes on the property, the vision of what it could be, developed.
Given its age & character, it could with effort, careful attention to detail and love, enable a trip back in time to a lost and bygone Cape era, for those who chose to experience such.

After purchasing the property, Joe Mgungu (an illiterate gardener) was selected for skills development, by being part of the restoration project: To restore the property back to the period in which it was built.

Together we attended Woodwork Joinery Classes at Thornton Technical College and after completing the course, we started the project. Unemployed labourers were hired daily (from the streets) and guided in the slow task of restoring and rebuilding. Today, nearly every piece in the cottage from the window frames to the tables and chairs, crockery & cutlery is of the period.

Now this historic home has been elegantly restored to its former glory. Exquisitely furnished with Victorian period pieces (many restored by us), it offers guests a luxurious experience of Classic Cape in a well situated position.