Raw Liquide showing the way forward for vegetable gardening
Vuyo Siboza and Stafford Mkwanda is busy changing the vegetable growing market
Vuyi Siboza, the mind behind Raw Liquide, along with his partner, Stafford Mkwanda, are busy defining the market with their juices as well as vegetable gardening.
The CHRONICLE recently caught up with Siboza and Mkwanda to find out more about the business as well as the road they had to take to ensure the products could be exported.
Siboza was obese during his youth, which inspired him later in life to change his lifestyle and share it with other people.
With Siboza believing he was living a healthy lifestyle, he was shocked to learn after he did a Body Mass Index (BMI) test that he was overweight.
This gave Siboza’s ego a knock, forcing him to start looking at a way of losing weight.
At the end of 2009, Siboza decided to join a running club where he later met John Hamlet who has coached a few Comrades Marathon winners through the years.
Hamlet introduced Siboza to juices and combined with veganism helped him lose weight.
In 2011 Siboza ran his first Comrades Marathon and did it for five years in a row.
“It was during my time training with John that I was faced with the argument of plant-based vs animal-based,” said Siboza.
After people approached Siboza he decided to start his own company in 2017 that sells juices.
Siboza said, “I went to the Innovation Hub at the Ekurhuleni West College (EWC) where I was doing a course for businesses that are just starting up. I was selected to take part in a programme that helps small businesses get an export contract to the European Union. In the end, I didn’t get a contract because I did not farm my vegetables.”
In 2020 Siboza started growing his vegetables and even reached out to schools in Vosloorus and Kathelong to teach the children to grow vegetables to sell later as a way of getting an income.
In 2021 Siboza met Stafford Mkwanda who comes from the organic farming industry.
Mkwanda comes from a farming family and his whole life he has worked on a farm, first as a general labourer before later getting the chance to specialise in organic farming.
With the new partnership, a company was born.
Home Garden Installation was a combined effort which saw Siboza and Mkwanada carry their knowledge of vegetable gardening over to a new market.
The company specialises in turning an open piece of garden into a vegetable garden.
The future for Siboza and Mkwanda is buying a piece of land where they will then build a retreat for people wanting to learn more about an organic way of living or just to get away from the rush of big city living.
