Twins give up their jobs to travel country, selling sweet koeksisters
Duo spread God’s word to customers they encounter
There are few who would believe that a humble sweet koeksister would be a God-inspired connection to spreading love and peace in the world.
But don’t try telling that to Rustenberg-born twins Eric and Errol Marnitz — better known as Koeksister Oomies — whose belief in their calling is as solid as the plaits that defines the unmistakably South African confectionery item.
The pair, who are in their mid-50s, are usually seen with their pet cockatiel, “Seen”.
Since first coming up with the idea of selling the sweet item from their bakkie in April last year, they have travelled the length and breadth of the country — with a great deal of success.
This week they find themselves selling their syruped koeksisters at the East Beach parking lot opposite Guido’s. When Talk of the Town arrived on Tuesday February 13 the “sold out” signs had already gone up.
“We tried to give up selling koeksisters many times but God keeps calling us back … so we keep going because we have a love and passion for making koeksisters,” they said.
“We have all our kitchen items in the back of our van,” Errol said, opening the hatch of their old Ford bakkie. Neatly packed at the back are gas bottles, tables and other items.
“We just find a spot where we lay out our tables and sell our koeksisters.”
And, as Talk of the Town chats to the pair of intrepid travellers many a car stops in between our conversation — with young and old asking: “Do you have any koeksisters left?”.
“No, we’re sold out today,” is their answer. “But we will be here again tomorrow,” Errol said.
“God spoke to us in a dream. We are twins so we often receive messages at similar times,” Eric said. It took them two-and-a- half years to perfect their koeksister recipe while selling it at the same intersection and adapting it time and again through divine intervention.
Both Errol and Eric emphasise that they are not preachers.
“We call ourselves believers. When we sell we speak to customers and that is how we remind people that God lives in them and loves them. God is calling us to remind them.”
The brothers have racked up some 10,000km since they began their journey last year. And they are adamant they won’t stop, “until God tells us to do something else”.
The twins had not seen each other in about 13 years, as they went their separate ways after their marriages. “We just didn’t see each other or speak to each other, though we stayed in the same region,” Eric said.
Errol, who is now divorced, said he and Eric’s paths crossed once again when he reunited with his brother in a show of support when Eric’s wife fell ill.
“I looked after her for four years and she sadly passed away.”
At this juncture, the pair were in Krugersdorp. Their intentions were clear about travelling around the country “but we did not know how exactly we would do it,” Errol said.
“(That was) until the dream when God spoke to us about making and using koeksisters to spread his message.”
“We were renting a place in Krugersdorp,” Eric said. “We gave up everything [after two years of perfecting the recipe] we had and left with R36 in our pocket. However, our landlady, after we handed the keys to her, put an envelope into our hand. There was R500 inside and that was the initial blessing that helped us to where we are now,” he said.
“I am a boilermaker and Eric is a plumber. We left our jobs to take on this calling,” Errol said.
“The money we take in from sales of our koeksisters just basically pays for our petrol, that’s all.”
The pair say they do have their squabbles and differences as they journey along, “but we have learnt how to diffuse them quickly before it gets out of hand”.
In Port Alfred, they have found shelter with a friend’s contact for a few days.
The brothers say their adventure has given them better insight as to how helpful and friendly South Africans truly are.
“From people arriving in time to fix flat tyres on a quiet road to those wishing us well and giving us food, we have been really touched by it.
“We do get negative comments but we do not let it bother us at all because it is our calling.”
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