Three Soweto women transformed a rubbish dump into a thriving vegetable garden the size of a soccer field.The Boikanyo Foundation Garden, situated behind Sediba Thuto Primary school in Mapetla, Soweto, was initially started by social worker, Matseke Nkadimeng.
“Our crops are growing so much better since Shoprite has come on board,” says Sarina Motseoane who works in the garden. She says, “We also take food sustainability more seriously than before, because we understand the principals of permaculture and have been using organic methods ever since we’ve been taught them in the workshops.”
With Shoprite’s support, the ladies who work for the garden have benefitted from 18 months’ worth of permaculture training, which included gardening skills, seed saving techniques and project management.
“We now sell to community members and have also attended Shoprite Market Days which have helped us a lot, as we meet other customers, and the support has been amazing,” says Motseoane.
Aside from training and support through Market Days, Shoprite has also supplied this women-led food garden with water infrastructure and planting material.
Motseoane says they hope their garden continues to go from strength to strength. “We hope to grow, be more successful and have an even bigger space of our own one day.”
Since 2015 Shoprite has supported more than 150 community food gardens and over 2 500 home gardens.
