The distinctive house in Orchards, Johannesburg, where Mahatma Gandhi lived from 1908 to 1910 and refined his Satyagraha philosophy of non-violent resistance, has been sold.

The buyer is French specialist tour company Voyageurs du Monde, and the sale was negotiated by Sylvia Cook of Lew Geffen Sotheby's International Realty in Johannesburg.

Voyageurs du Monde, which is listed on the Paris stock exchange, intends to preserve the Orchards house as a heritage property and use it as a "place of pilgrimage" for visitors specifically interested in Ghandi's life and the Satyagraha creed that was the foundation of the Indian independence movement and inspired other civil-rights leaders such as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

"We are absolutely thrilled with this outcome," say Nancy and Jarrod Ball, who have owned the house for 28 years.

"Voyageurs du Monde is passionate about the property and this arrangement will enable more people to share its peaceful atmosphere. In addition, the company has invested in other heritage sites around the world, so has the expertise as well as the means to preserve and maintain it properly. It would also like to establish a Gandhi museum here."

Built by architect Herman Kallenbach, who was Gandhi's friend and confidant, the house is informally called "The Kraal" because of its distinctive thatched roofs and rondavel style. It has five bedrooms and is set in a garden with large trees.

When the Balls bought the house in 1981 (for R65k) it was run down and needed renovations to the roof and windows, and new wiring. It has also been enlarged since then, "but we always tried to preserve the original character of the house" says Nancy Ball, an American-born artist.

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I remember the house very well from my childhood days in the 50's & 60's as we lived diagonally opposite at 12 Pine Road (since demolished). The family living there in those days were the Dowling's & Paddy Dowling was a broadcaster with Springbok Radio- many were the parties my parent's attended with Springbok celebs in attendance. Even in those days it was referred to as ''The Gandhi House '' and of special interest was the loft room adjacent to the lounge which was used by Gandhi for meditating and had a collapsible iron ladder to afford access. I remember on an occasion when a overseas reporter did an article complete with photos of the house. The next door stand, which is now the synagogue, was used in those earlier days as a skid kid track - oh the grand old memories! – Derrick Pentz