It may sound unusual, but for Grace Maseko and her family, a snail’s slimy trail is what supports their livelihood.

The family turned to snail farming after years of traditional farming left them looking for another way to grow their agricultural operation. Maseko’s mother-in-law had been farming cattle, chickens, eggs and broilers, but her husband wanted the family to explore alternatives.

“We have been farming for a long time,” says Maseko, “and we are always becoming emerging farmers. We are never big farmers yet.”

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That search led the family to investigate different types of farming, including black soldier flies and worms, before they came across snail farming. “We decided to go with this,” she says.
One of the unusual things the family collects from their snails is the substance they leave behind as they move. “When the snails leave the trail, that’s what we collect from the snails.”

The substance is mucus, which is referred to as mucin when used in their skincare product. Rather than formulate the product themselves, the family sends the collected mucin to a laboratory, where it is formulated.

Maseko said this was important to the family because they wanted to make sure the product was safe and certified. She said they also try to keep it as natural as possible, without adding perfume.

Maseko said she uses the product herself and that it has become part of her family’s routine. “I previously had an uneven skin tone, with some areas darker than others, but noticed that my skin became more balanced, smooth and moisturised,” she says.

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The family’s interest in snail farming was also influenced by an older skincare product, which Maseko remembers being popular. While skincare has become one of the uses they have found for what their snails produce, the bigger story for the family is the farming itself.

“I don’t know how many snails we have collected just for their mucus because there are so many. We collect the mucus from them and, once we are done, we send the snails back. Then we repeat the process again.”

Ward 94 councillor David Foley said he was surprised such farming methods exist. “There are so many new natural products out there that we have not even discovered yet,” says Foley. “Nature has a way of providing you with everything you need, like with this.”

Anna Malatjie, from citizen relationship and urban management, said the department works with small entrepreneurs and agro-processors, supporting businesses that turn produce from local farmers into products that can be sold.

She said the work includes young farmers and entrepreneurs producing a range of products, from jam and baked goods to candles, vegetables, pickles and sauces. “They are agro-processors who work with produce from our farmers, so it is literally a garden-to-table type of thing.”

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