Now mining for eggs
A community are able to support their families after a co-operative putting an end to illegal mining
EVERYDAY unemployed community members in a remote area of northern Zululand put their lives on the line trying to scrape out a living for their families through illegal coal mining.
However the tides have turned and the community members no longer have to risk life and limb.
Zululand Anthracite Colliery has provided an opportunity for the community to become involved in a more sustainable – and legal – source of income.
A site in the Osuthu traditional area was located and a permanent structure built to house 160 laying chickens for the KwaMinya Co-operative.
Chairperson of the five-member co-operative, Jabu Zulu, said now that they had a secure income from selling eggs, there was no longer the need to put their lives at risk digging for coal in illegal mines.
Already the co-operative has replaced its first 160 layers with new ones that have grown into fine laying hens, and is planning to increase this number soon.
‘Our plan was to sell our eggs in the larger towns nearby, but we found that there is a huge demand for our eggs right here where we are. This is good because we can start planning to accommodate more chickens to increase our egg production,’ said an upbeat Zulu.
It is not only the eggs that the co-operative are able to sell and turn a profit on, they are also making money from the sale of the laying hens which are replaced by a new batches of chicks.
Just a few hundred metres from the now thriving chicken coop is the desolate, abandoned quarry where the community members used to illegally mine for coal, which serves as a cold reminder of the great risk taken to their personal safety and how their lives have now changed for the better.
