Page 67 - SCAT Rural Voice II - 35 Stories for 35 Years

THE ATAMELAnG
coopeRatIve
The small rural village of Tweefontein in the Free State could be missed in a blink of an eye if you drive past en route from Thaba nchu 39km away and Bloemfontein which is approximately 120km away.1 The village is just over 50 years old and is based on Trust land which belongs to the Free State government. Most of the houses in the village are built with stones. At the entrance to the village is a small pond which is used by animals for drinking water especially during the summer rains. There are also tall trees and a small graveyard on the right side of the village. There is an imposing stone hill at the rear end of the village, overlooking three stone churches, the oldest being the roman Catholic Church. Further on is the village’s only school Poonyane Primary. The last census in 2011 recorded the population of Tweefontein as 247, most of whom are seSotho speakers (79,35%).2
The Atamelang Co-operative is an emerging local development agency based in Tweefontein. The organisation was started by community members in response to unemployment, food shortages and the spread of HIV/Aids in the village. The co- operative encourages local youth to participate in their food garden project to foster an interest in subsistence farming and agriculture as possible careers.
The project has just recently been nominated for the Best Emerging Agricultural project in the Free State. They were visited by the provincial minister of Agriculture who gave an undertaking that she would get the Premier of the Free State to visit the project with the aim of funding it. The local Health Clinic is supplied with produce such as spinach, onions and cabbage from their garden. Four households with sick elderly members of the family receive home based care and fresh vegetables from the project. This is in addition to the care and support given to those in the community living with chronic diseases such as HIV/Aids and TB. Between R2 000.00 and R2 500.00 per month is generated from the sale of vegetables from the project.
1. Tweefontein (Main Place, Mangaung / Bloemfontein, South Africa) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location. (2019). retrieved October 9, 2019, from https://www.citypopulation.de/en/southafrica/mangaung/499039__tweefontein/
2. Frith, A. (2019). Census 2011: Main Place: Tweefontein. retrieved October 9, 2019, from https://census2011.adrianfrith.com/ place/499039
FAst FACTS
NaMe: The Atamelang Cooperative
LeD By: Kgoanyape Choane – the current chairperson of the management committee. MaiN CHaLLeNGes faCeD By tHe CoMMUNity: Unemployment, poverty
and drought
MaiN aCtiVities: Food security; home-based care
aDDress: 41 Tweefontein Trust, Thaba nchu
CoNtaCt: Mmabatho Phandilwe 063 233 4054
FOOD seCUrity
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