Co-op member, Lindiwe Gabela, tends to her mielies at the Lenin Drive garden.
Alex women have taken their destiny into their own hands by starting gardening cooperatives (co-ops) for their financial sustainability and self-reliance.
The co-ops, at different levels of development, operate from the Lenin Drive garden, Tsutsumani at a former dump site which is said to have been a rape and murder hotspot. Now, it is a productive site with a variety of thriving crops.
Consisting of mainly female members, with five per co-op, they till new patches of land for planting and tend to their existing organic vegetables which they then sell to customers fresh from a makeshift stall nearby.
“This is a sign of our interest in agricultural self-reliance, which some of us with a rural background in Limpopo and other provinces are accustomed to,” said Violet Mabaso, managing member of Molobanyane Co-op.
Violet Mabaso, a managing member of Molobanyane Co-op at the Lenin Drive garden.
The crops include mielies, pumpkins, beans, tomatoes, onions, spinach, carrots, potatoes, brinjals, chillies, beetroot, kale and a variety of herbs.
“We sell to about 40 to 60 customers per day and also supply supermarkets and food outlets, including shops, restaurants in Sandton, the fresh produce market in City Deep and also at monthly pension payout points and council’s Region E offices in Sandton,” explained Mabaso.
She commended Urban Fresh, who market their produce and teach them about food packaging and preserving, and the City Council which provided the site, a fridge and the initial equipment.
The initiative, which falls under the Social Development Department’s food security programme, mitigates poverty and keeps the women gainfully employed and physically engaged. Mabaso said the initiative affirmed women’s central roles in family food security and health promotion through a balanced, nutritious diet from organic produce.
She added that the herbs added medicinal benefits which helped with seasonal and other ailments. “We teach customers on their values and uses, how to process and preserve them, and also culinary skills to the retain the nutritional value of vegetables,” said Mabaso.
Lerato Ndlovu, urban agricultural manager at Region E of the Joburg City Council, commended the co-ops, saying their produce was fresher, natural and more affordable than at shops. “Residents can also grow them in their own backyards,” she said adding that the multi-crop combination helped to rejuvenate and fertilise the soil and protected the crops from pests.
Violet Mabaso, a managing member of Molobanyane Co-op, shows off some of their herb preserves at the Lenin Drive garden.
Mabaso added, “The work isn’t easy for newcomers to agriculture who still need to fully understand its profitability which requires full-time availability to customers.”
Their main challenge is the unreliable water supply and not having a lease agreement, which means they cannot entice potential agencies willing to drill boreholes and provide more technical support.
Ndlovu said they needed more land as more women wanted to emulate the group. The site is fenced and gated, has tool and crop sheds, JoJo tanks, and security guards.
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