It’s been 10 years since Andile Mbewu received the rights to a fairly sizeable piece of vacant land at one of the entrances to the Kagiso township and in that decade, nothing has been with it.

Andile explained that after Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM) had given the land to him to cultivate, he and the Vuk’uzenzele Eco Club organisation under which he’s operating had been unable to gather the necessary funds to develop it effectively as a farming space. He said that once the farm is fully set up and running, just enough of the grown produce will be sold to keep the farm going and pay their workers.

The rest, Andile said, will be going straight back into the Kagiso community, be it through food donations or by starting a soup kitchen which would provide daily meals to those who need it the most. Andile said the land has a borehole with fresh drinking water, and that their crops will be watered by a stream which passes through Kagiso and near the farm.

“Vuk’uzenzele will need help getting there,” Andile said.

Back in 2003, Eskom allegedly quoted him the amount of R57 000 to connect the land to the electricity grid. Vuk’uzenzele will also need more funding for the project. Included in the list of what needs to be done, are the land being surveyed by a professional; a two-metres high precast fencing being put up to keep out intruders; tunnelling for growing seedlings; setting up a fish tank/ pond; setting up beehives; connecting to the borehole and nearby stream; installing solar energy panels as an alternative to a direct electricity-grid connection; and building the necessary greenhouse spaces.

To this purpose, Andile is hoping to attract donors to get them started. If you are interested in the project, Andile can be contacted on 063 231 6840.

Please note: The News does not provide financial planning/ investment advice, and readers are to conduct their own due diligence before making financial decisions.