Diepsloot’s cooperative hopes to acquire a bigger piece of land and produce more vegetables
DIEPSLOOT– Nkonyane said although their organisation was yielding good results, there was still a long ways to go in order to reach its goals.
In August last year, a group of unemployed youth of Diepsloot came together and took a decision to start a farming cooperative.
They named their organisation, Mashaka Cooperative and later identified a piece of barren land that was used as an illegal dumping site, removed all the garbage and cultivated the ground and planted vegetables. With the help and donations of seeds from a local non-profit organisation, Diepsloot Youth Programme, the cooperative managed to expand and planted more vegetables which included, cabbage, spinach, beetroot, carrots and many others.
The co-founder of Mashaka Cooperative, Njabulo Nkonyane said the organisation was growing from strength to strength and had since managed to harvest and sell the vegetables at Riversands Farm Market on three occasions.
“When we started this project, we never thought it will get to this level at this time. We were just a group of unemployed individuals who wanted to do something that will feed our families. However, we later realised that there was potential in what we were doing,” he said. Nkonyane said although their organisation was yielding good results, there was still a long ways to go to reach its goals.
“This project has helped us gain a basic understanding of vegetable farming. What we really desire now, is to get a bigger piece of land where we can plant more and sell more. We also need a fence for this garden because it is vulnerable to thieves. We hope that one of the authorities out there will read this and help us grow.”
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