“Our land is the weapon to fight poverty”
A community meeting was called and the idea of starting a farming co-operative was introduced, which was the beginning of the Isinamuva Agricultural Co-operative three years ago.
Extreme poverty, unemployment and a big piece of vacant land inspired an idea for the residents of Esdumbini in Ndwedwe, 50km inland from Tongaat.
A community meeting was called and the idea of starting a farming co-operative was introduced, which was the beginning of the Isinamuva Agricultural Co-operative three years ago.
A member of the group, Lindokuhle Dube said they realised their land is the weapon to fight poverty and unemployment, therefore they had to come up with something that will benefit everyone.
“We have put our hearts and souls into these vegetable gardens. None of us will ever go to bed without food because we always have vegetables available in the gardens,” said Dube, who together with his mom Betty and seven other residents are farming five hectares of land, with the plan to expand to ten hectares.
“This is a community business, we are the ones who will keep it running and we are the ones who can make it fail.”
They have two Jojo tanks and a water pump to help them with their irrigation system. One tank was given to them by the department of agriculture.
They are growing potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, spinach, green beans, butternut, onions, carrots, green pepper, lettuce and amadumbe.
Dube said their vegetables are being bought by the Ilembe Enterprise school feeding scheme. They also sell their products at pension collection stores around Ndwedwe and Maphumulo and residents can buy vegetables from the farm directly.
He said they want to see themselves supplying different supermarkets in the province and create more employment in the area.
“We are always looking for new ideas and ways to keep producing quality vegetables, which is why we entered the 2017 Ilembe Chamber Entrepreneurs Competition.”
The group was one of the 17 finalists, but sadly did not win.
“Winning the competition would have been a bonus. What we wanted the most was to gain knowledge on how to run a business in a proper way. I must say that we have learnt a lot and we appreciate the help we received from the Chamber.”
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