Zamani Chauke makes a living from a small piece of land
DIEPSLOOT– Chauke said the bigger piece of land has helped him grow more vegetables to sell.
Following countless failed attempts to find a job for nearly 10 years, Diepsloot resident Zamani Chauke turned to the soil to make a living and support his family.
The 35-year-old father of three from Diepsloot Ext 1 said he decided to stop looking for a job and turned to what his mother taught him.
“For many years, I’ve been trying to get a job with no success because I don’t have formal education. I grew up in the small rural town of Giyani in Limpopo and the only thing I learned from my mother was to grow vegetables,” Chauke explained.
“When I came to Diepsloot years ago, I started a small garden next to my shack to grow vegetables and sell them. One community member saw my work and offered to help me find a bigger space to grow my vegetables.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic hard lockdown last year, the Good Samaritan returned to tell Chauke that he had secured him a bigger piece of land that he could use to grow his vegetables.
“When this guy first came to me, I thought he was lying but when he later came back with seeds, I realised that he was [for] real. He took me to Diepsloot West Secondary School to meet the principal who later showed me a piece of land inside the school premises and I started preparing the land.”
He concluded, “I started planting and growing vegetables in a big quantity and my wife takes them to the market to sell. I recently harvested my first stock, sold it and donated some to the school kitchen. Right now I’m growing winter [produce] that will be ready to go to the market in a few weeks.”
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