Growing the economy

Leaving a legacy

Retired welder Stanford Mbuzwa (67), who spent most of his working life in Springs servicing the mining industry, has thrown his energy into founding the farming collective.

Mbuzwa, who started farming in 1980 by growing vegetables, mealies and sugar cane, as well as raising chickens and livestock, spends his time ensuring his land is productive. The father – and grandfather of 16 – also still keeps himself busy with metalwork.

Mbuzwa shows off the imposing iron stove he built from scratch when he wasn’t farming. It banishes the bitter morning cold from the air of the rondavel in his homestead at Khonjwayo village. Next to it, Mbuzwa has set up a breeding pen for chicks.

“I’ve learnt to farm much better. I’ve learnt about how to be consistent. I have been able to move my farming to another level and to do things I could never have done before. This has given me new confidence,” he says.

More food at home

Novuyile Dukuza (66) joined Fundirite in 2016, earning a salary for her work in raising the crops. She will now, as payment for her efforts, be allotted her own plot, for which she will receive a rental, and a share of profits and produce.

“This has made a big difference in my life,” says Dukuza, a mother of four, with two children still at school and two looking for jobs.

“I now have some money, and we are eating better at home,” she says. “I can send my kids to school. It helps.”

Dukuza is excited about getting her own land.

“I’m very interested and excited about this,” she says. “I’m proud that I will be owning my own land. It’s something I look forward to.”

Growing the economy 

Noqikelela Nokwe (53) is one of the members of the board of directors that runs Fundirite.

Now in her second year with the project, Nokwe is enjoying having cash in her pocket, and believes that her hard work is building the regional and national economy.

“We are contributing to South Africa and to its economy,” says the mother of six.

“It is something to be proud of. What we are producing here is going all over South Africa and overseas.

“We have taken land that was not being used and turned it into something that is very productive.” – 

Money for fees

Simbongile Mzimeli (62) got involved in the project after hearing that his five hectares of land, which he had not been farming, could be turned into a form of income for his family.

“When this project started, I had two plots that I was not using. Now I am farming five hectares and learning about new ways to do things,” he says.

The income he generates has allowed him to send two of his children to Walter Sisulu University’s Butterworth campus, where they are studying engineering and chemistry, a dream he couldn’t imagine before.

“The money I am earning here helps me a lot. Right now it is funding my children at university. I would love to continue with this.

“In the beginning, half of the people were not willing to sign up for the project. They didn’t have trust. Now they see what a success it is, they want to join. We own this project and profit from it.”

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