Page 65 - SCAT Rural Voice II - 35 Stories for 35 Years

In 2006 the community elders gave us eleven hectors of land to use for agricultural projects. The main goal was to generate income for young people through a farming co-operative. We eventually registered what became known as the Entlango Primary Agricultural Cooperative in 2009. It consisted of fifteen members both young and old.
We immediately started planting spinach and cabbage on a small scale. We did not have many resources and used watering cans to water the plants. Our output was little and we sold our produce to the local community members. Since the land was big, we needed bigger resources such as tractors, seedlings, fertilisers and an irrigation system.
Five young members who were part of the group left because we did not achieve the expected profits. The remaining ten members had no skills to run a co-operative and needed training. The co-operative did not have enough support from government departments, especially the department of Agriculture. nonetheless, we persisted, worked hard with the little resources we had until SCAT came on board in 2012 to fund the project.
In 2012 the Buffalo City Municipality also came on board. It installed an irrigation system and we are now able to plant a lot of vegetables and use most of the land. In the same year, the municipality and SCAT assisted us to build a hydroponic greenhouse. It consisted of 15 000 tomato seedlings, fertilizers, and spray chemicals. Most importantly they provided us with a mentor who trained us in tomato production and basic management skills.
In 2014 we received R500 000.00 funding from the Dept of Social Development and we managed to buy a tractor and a plough. We put up an electric fence around the greenhouse, we bought tomato and vegetable seedlings, fertilisers and packing boxes for tomatoes. The Dept of Agriculture provided us with three containers to store our equipment and produce, a trailer for the tractor and flush toilets with a septic tank.
In 2018 the ECDC funded us with R500 000.00 to cover our needs and we now have proper equipment for ploughing. We also upgraded our electric pump from the funding. The Dept of Social Development awarded the co-operative a tender to supply vegetables to three feeding schemes namely Siphumeze in Dimbaza King William’s Town, Shalom in Duncan Village and Masiphuhle in Beacon Bay East London. We supply them with butternut, carrots, cabbages, spinach, carrots and tomatoes.
We distribute our produce to different supermarkets in King William’s Town and East London and to local businesses. We also provide vegetables to underprivileged families in the community as a means to thank them for their support.
It’s been a long journey full of ups and downs, but we have managed to touch lives and empower the youth with the help of SCAT. Our cooperative currently has 15 employees. Most of them are young women and bread winners of their families. We hope to continue to touch lives and empower more people through farming.
FOOD seCUrity
RuRal Voice ii: 35 stories for 35 years
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