Sprawling community upliftment centre starts garden project
A project has set down roots at Amanzimtoti Community Upliftment's centre in Karridene, and includes a garden with potatoes, onions and more.
REBUILDING lives one-by-one, Amanzimtoti Community Upliftment (Amcup), based in Karridene, is an NPO that specialises in helping members of the community find their way back into society.
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For six months the NPO houses residents that want to get their lives back on track, offering skills development, food and guidance. Manager Mungo Langley explained that residents can stay for a further six months as they are supported and encouraged to find gainful employment utilising their newfound skill sets.
Amcup is, at its core, a religious organisation. Mungo explained, “Amcup is a peaceful place because it is God’s project. This is the place to be for members of the community that want to enact positive change in their lives. Most people that come here, come in lost. Residents learn the word of God, they re-learn a normal routine of getting up, making their beds, washing up, having breakfast, going to work and coming back home.”
Mungo provided a tour of the grounds. On one end are the offices and several serene garden retreats, offering quiet spaces. There is a community hall, where residents are given warm meals, a dormitory-style lodging for them to call home, and several areas where various skills are taught and honed. These include gardening, mechanical and/or electrical work, woodcutting, among others.
Shane Dupreez, a resident at Amcup, explained that the new vegetable garden project comprises of two pits. He had already planted potatoes, and will soon be adding onions, carrots, flowers, and to keep monkeys and insects away, chilli trees as well.
“With this project, we give a percentage to Amcup, we give the community 10%, and for the rest, we harvest for ourselves so we can sell it and make an honest living,” said Dupreez.
He enthusiastically spoke about the NPO, adding that residents have a safe bed, warm water and a disciplined lifestyle.
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