Water crisis threatens 58-year-old Sandton farmer’s thriving garden
After creating jobs and feeding struggling families through her garden at Innesfree Park, Lekau Nkoko is appealing for a borehole, fencing and shade nets before her dream withers away.
Farmer and founder of Mothushi Tshegofatso ya Karabo, Lekau Nkoko (58), has transformed what was once an overgrown patch of bush in Sandton into a vibrant food garden that feeds families, creates jobs and promotes healthier living.
Located at Innesfree Park, the land was allocated to Nkoko by the Department of Social Development and Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo in 2018.
“When I came to this place, there were just bushes. My daughter Mothushi and I cleaned it up and started planting little by little,” Nkoko said.
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Today, the farm has become a source of fresh fruit and vegetables and produces homemade jams, sauces, achar, and herbal teas from crops grown on the farm.
“We grow a variety of vegetables, including spinach, cabbage, carrots, beetroot, potatoes, Chinese mustard spinach, and chomolia. We also have fruit trees such as peaches, plums, lemons, mulberries and apricots, as well as medicinal and culinary herbs.”
Rather than simply selling fresh produce, Nkoko has diversified the farm by processing many of its crops into value-added products.
“We produce five flavours of jam, sauces, achar and herbal teas. Most of the ingredients come directly from our farm. It allows us to add value to what we grow and reduce waste.”
However, after more than three months without a reliable water supply, Nkoko said the thriving project is facing one of its toughest challenges.
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“Being a farmer is a very intense experience. You have to be willing to put in plenty of intensity because every season has its own challenges or its own wins.
“This current [winter] season, we found ourselves without water. We haven’t had water at the farm for over three months. And if there’s no water, our plants get stunted. Everything that we’ve planted a couple of months ago has overgrown before it could even be sown.”
Nkoko added that the farm supplies fresh produce to informal traders and hawkers, while also donating food to orphanages, elderly residents and struggling families.
“But with the current water outages, everything is at a standstill. We cannot harvest, and if we can’t harvest, we can’t make money. I had employed 10 people to help me at the farm, and paid them from the little I made.”
“I had to stop [paying them] because I do not make any profit at the moment. I’m buying some seeds with my pocket money.”
Besides the lack of water, Nkoko said the farm also struggles with incomplete fencing, birds damaging crops and the community crossing through the property to access the nearby river.
“Whether we’ve planted or not, people just come in and walk through the farm to access the river. It is saddening to see such a beautiful thing I built fade.
“I’m appealing to anyone who can help with a borehole, fencing and some tunnels or shade nets. Because the birds are eating all the crops we’ve grown.”
Details: contact Lekau Nkoko on 076 778 5368 or her daughter Mothushi Nkoko on 076 613 7566.
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