Dad finds greener pastures

He travelled more than 1000km in 2012 from Mpumalanga to to the Eastern Cape in search of greener pastures but instead met hard times which saw him hustling for odd jobs in front of Eric’s Corner on Old Transkei Road in East London.

Fast forward six years and Nompumelelo resident Brian Moyo not only works as a full time gardener but now also has his own thriving food garden – thanks to his employer, Dr Wessel Strydom.

According to Moyo, it was the luckiest day of his life when, looking for a team of labourers to work his overgrown and infested garden in his Bonnie Doon home back in 2014, Strydom stopped his bakkie in front of him. Moyo said he and 29 other guys jumped in. It took them a total of nine months to turn Strydom’s garden into a masterpiece.

Impressed with his work, Strydom hired Moyo as his full-time gardener, taking it one step further by helping his employee start a food garden.

Picking out a site which was once an overgrown dump, Moyo said Strydom hired 16 labourers to clear out the rubbish and overgrown bushes in the area.

It took three days. From there, seeds were bought and planting began, with a variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers chosen.

The food garden currently provides butternut, green pepper, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, beetroot, mielies, potatoes, peaches, avocados, guavas, bananas and oranges.

Moyo said the harvest is enough to feed not only himself and his partner and three-year-old daughter, but is assisting most of the underprivileged community too.

“I eat from here, my neighbours eat from here and I make sure I give Dr Strydom a share of the fruits and vegetables because without him then this would not have been possible,” he said.

“I have neighbours regularly knocking on my door asking for some vegetables and fruit. I never say no because I understand that most people living here are struggling to find employment.

“ I don’t ever sell the produce, although I know I would make a lot of money. Because it was a gift, I also give to people as a gift.”

Moyo said thanks to Strydom’s generosity, he also managed to buy himself a car.

Strydom said the time spent working on his garden was truly wonderful as it gave him an opportunity to not only interact with a variety of people but to hear their individual stories too.

He said he was spurred into action when he heard Moyo’s tale of hardship.

“My garden and his food garden is an absolute success story,” Strydom said.