Disclaimer: to protect the privacy of this club, certain details have been omitted such as the club name and address. Please don’t ask us how or where to find this club. The purpose of these reviews is to practically demonstrate and inspire on the range of possibilities when it comes to operating a Dagga Private Club.
The general consensus is that 2020 has felt like wearing a wet blanket in the middle of winter during load shedding. With lockdown lifted somewhat, a few weeks ago I decided to take a much needed break with a long weekend trip to Cape Town, to experience the city without the chaos of having thousands of tourists everywhere. As soon as the plane touched down at an eerily quiet Cape Town International Airport, instead of thinking about wine tours and beaches, I was making arrangements to visit a very special slice of Cannabis heaven, a secret and well-hidden Dagga Private Club.
I get the go ahead that I’m allowed to visit the club as a non-member (more on this later) and punch in the address details for Uber. As soon as I arrived at the location, even the Uber driver asked me if I’m 100% sure that I’m at the right place, as it was pretty much in the middle of a ghost-town business district with half empty high-rise office buildings. Standing in the street, I see, hear, and smell nothing related to Cannabis and feel maybe it is the wrong address. Feeling relief, I spotted the “sign” I was told to look out for, walked to the door and rang the buzzer.
Within a few seconds the door opened, and I was greeted by a rather large gentlemen dressed in all black, who’s clearly there to make sure no-one disobeys the rules. It is at this moment that I begin to experience what a Dagga Private Club (DPC) has the potential to be, when professionalism is part of the club culture. Our doorman, in a gentle tone, asks if I’m a member, and I said no, but I tell him I’ve been given the green light from the owner as a representative of Fields of Green for ALL. He kindly asks me to wait in the foyer, whilst a staff member confirms my invitation with the owner. After I complete a member referral/visitors form, they finally allow me to enter the club. New members can only be referred by existing members, no exceptions. These strict rules are meant to keep the public away from randomly entering the club, which creates safety for the club’s staff and members. This all took less than 5 minutes with everyone acting professional, calm and collected, no Karens here.
As soon as I enter, I’m caught off-guard with what I saw and experienced, in a very good way. Obviously the first thing that catches my attention is the bud bar. The friendly and knowledgeable bud-tender offers to give me a rundown of the menu, with about ten cultivars displayed and grouped into three categories according to effect (Sativas, Indicas and Hybrids). There are also edibles, prerolls and concentrates available, however, if I’m going to judge a club on their Cannabis, I’m going for the most expensive top shelf. I chose an Indica leaning “Sherbet Shortcake”, and have to say I was really impressed with the terpene profile and bag appeal. Dense, rock hard, frosty nugs with hues of purple and light green, dare I say same bud porn quality as seen in Instagram accounts from the likes of Knuckle Genetics, Jungle Boyz and Cookies. The budtender tells me to grab a table and that he’ll bring my purchase over shortly.
As I sit down, a very tentative waiter explains another menu, the food one. The club operates as a sit down restaurant that just so happens to also offer some very dank Cannabis. The food menu is even more mouth-watering than the Cannabis one, and I finally opt for the gourmet hotdog with a Bar One milkshake on the side. As the waiter goes to place my order, my Sherbet Shortcake arrives on a literal silver platter, with a matching designer metal grinder and rolling papers. As I roll a one gram bat, I begin to take in the details of this club and the attention to detail is phenomenal. From the wall art to the colour scheme, even the silver platter was etched with the club logo, everything made me feel like I was in a luxury exclusive speakeasy, and yet not in a pretentious way.
The owner comes over to introduce himself and we catch up on the latest dank skinner, or CBD-NN as we call it in our circles. He believes in the club model and what potential a club can have when it’s run with professionalism and good intentions. It was refreshing to know that the owner was physically present and managing the club on a daily basis, and it shows from the moment I walked in. He’s a busy man and had to leave for another meeting, but he kindly offered that I could hang out in the club for as long as I’m in Cape Town, and his parting words were “Careful, the milkshakes are more addictive than the weed!”
The food comes to my table, and long story short, it was forking delicious. After paying my bill (which didn’t break the bank), I say my goodbyes to everyone and exited back onto the street, feeling high, happy and full.
My final thoughts: Dagga Private Clubs (DPCs) are the future of the South African Cannabis industry, with more popping up across the country on a monthly basis. The reason these clubs are in existence is because of the lack of trade regulations, and the same trend is seen not only in South Africa, but also Spain, UK, Belgium and other countries. Even a small club can create jobs and income for not only the staff members, but also the club’s member growers. If done correctly, a club can create a closed-loop mechanism for people to safely access amazing craft Cannabis, as well as experience the culture of our community. Fields of Green for ALL is at the forefront of the Dagga Private Club (DPC) revolution, so watch this space for some exciting new announcements.
Very informative, thank you! I had the pleasure of joining at another members-only club and my experience was nothing but positive. So excited that more and more are popping up
I have been thinking a lot about a similar setup in my area. However the legal setup has always stopped me. Where could one get proper legal advice to start aDPC?
Hi Riaan,
Join our Green Network and you’ll have access to start-up information and our DPC consultation services. Join here:
https://www.fieldsofgreenforall.org.za/product/monthly-donation/
See you there!
Isn’t this model more a “cannabis social club”?
I thought the DPC model is a group of individuals growing sharing their flower amongst themselves? So a growers club?
Hi Anton,
There are various models of the Dagga Private Club. What this club is doing is still being a growers’ club, they just also have a PRIVATE clubhouse where they can socialize as a PRIVATE group and collect the flower that they have access to.
Great review. I went there myself while in Cape Town and this club is run really tightly. It also has 5 star interior decorating and a really good restaurant for members only. Even if our ignorant government introduces trade in Cannabis like they should, private clubs will survive because they fill an important niche. Several of my friends joined and are happy to have had access to superb flowers for several months now. It should be noted that they are the only instance (franchising is a business concept and I firmly believe private clubs should consider affiliation rather) and have not tried to advertise, don’t have a website, can’t be found on facebook or google and their paperwork is managed impeccably, ready for audit at any time. That’s the way to do it!