When five unemployed Mthatha residents decided to convert an illegal dumpsite into a vegetable garden in 2012, little did they know that four years later they would supply some of the city’s major retailers.
After years of being rejected by prospective employers and instead of becoming despondent and wallowing in self-pity, the founding members – Mila Panduva, Busisiwe Fiki, both 35, Buncoko Manciya, 26, Zolani Menye, 25, and Viwe Mbelu, 31 – set about changing their futures by starting their own agricultural cooperative, called the Mlla Farming Primary Cooperative Limited.
They initially wanted to convert a piece of land in the Mbuqe Extension neighbourhood, which had become an illegal dumpsite.
But Panduva, the chairman of the project, said the land belonged to the department of public works and formed part of a land claim by the Zimbane land claimants.
While they managed to convince the land claimants, getting public works to agree was a bit more challenging, but eventually they prevailed.
Registering the cooperative and getting a tax clearance certificate also proved a challenge and in the end it was decided they would contribute R200 each, most of which was borrowed from their parents.
Since then, the cooperative has been cultivating vegetables on two hectares of land which are sold to five popular vegetable retail shops in the city centre.
The surplus is also sold to catering businesses and local residents.
They cultivate anything from cabbages to spinach, beetroot and butternut, but are hoping to include things like Queensland Blue pumpkin to their range of produce.
Panduva said they had received help from a neighbouring youth agricultural nursery project, Uphuhliso Lwethu Youth Project, run by Vuyisa Ngcukana.
“He helped mentor us and we also received training from the agriculture department on crop production,” Panduva said.
They also received a R250000 grant from the Eastern Cape social development department last year.
“We wanted to create employment for ourselves and also create work for other young people out there,” Panduva said.
He said they had managed to secure an additional 43 hectares from Orange Grove village near Ikhwezi Township, which they wanted to use to expand their business.
They employ about 10 people.
Fiki said: “We are not just looking at supplying these shops in Mthatha but want to become commercial farmers and even export some of our produce overseas.”
The two Mbuqe Extension-based cooperatives were visited yesterday by social development MEC Nancy Sihlwayi as part of the annual countrywide Youth Month celebrations.
She lauded the members for being able to run sustainable initiatives.
She said her department had allocated around R325000 for youth cooperatives in the OR Tambo district for this financial year, while a total of R24-million had been earmarked for youth development across the province this year.
“Some of these young people want to work but cannot because of situations ... This is truly remarkable,” she said.
Youth co-op supplies produce to Mthatha shops
After years of being rejected by prospective employers and instead of becoming despondent and wallowing in self-pity, the founding members – Mila Panduva, Busisiwe Fiki, both 35, Buncoko Manciya, 26, Zolani Menye, 25, and Viwe Mbelu, 31 – set about changing their futures by starting their own agricultural cooperative, called the Mlla Farming Primary Cooperative Limited.
They initially wanted to convert a piece of land in the Mbuqe Extension neighbourhood, which had become an illegal dumpsite.
But Panduva, the chairman of the project, said the land belonged to the department of public works and formed part of a land claim by the Zimbane land claimants.
While they managed to convince the land claimants, getting public works to agree was a bit more challenging, but eventually they prevailed.
Registering the cooperative and getting a tax clearance certificate also proved a challenge and in the end it was decided they would contribute R200 each, most of which was borrowed from their parents.
Since then, the cooperative has been cultivating vegetables on two hectares of land which are sold to five popular vegetable retail shops in the city centre.
The surplus is also sold to catering businesses and local residents.
They cultivate anything from cabbages to spinach, beetroot and butternut, but are hoping to include things like Queensland Blue pumpkin to their range of produce.
Panduva said they had received help from a neighbouring youth agricultural nursery project, Uphuhliso Lwethu Youth Project, run by Vuyisa Ngcukana.
“He helped mentor us and we also received training from the agriculture department on crop production,” Panduva said.
They also received a R250000 grant from the Eastern Cape social development department last year.
“We wanted to create employment for ourselves and also create work for other young people out there,” Panduva said.
He said they had managed to secure an additional 43 hectares from Orange Grove village near Ikhwezi Township, which they wanted to use to expand their business.
They employ about 10 people.
Fiki said: “We are not just looking at supplying these shops in Mthatha but want to become commercial farmers and even export some of our produce overseas.”
The two Mbuqe Extension-based cooperatives were visited yesterday by social development MEC Nancy Sihlwayi as part of the annual countrywide Youth Month celebrations.
She lauded the members for being able to run sustainable initiatives.
She said her department had allocated around R325000 for youth cooperatives in the OR Tambo district for this financial year, while a total of R24-million had been earmarked for youth development across the province this year.
“Some of these young people want to work but cannot because of situations ... This is truly remarkable,” she said.
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