Nxazonke 
An open-access course in sustainable entrepreneurship

Nxazonke

iZindaba Zokudla emerged out of a research project on participatory technology development. Since then iZindaba Zokudla developed the Farmers School and Innovation Lab, which became the Farmers’ Lab. When Covid hit us, Juanita van der Walt developed the Virtual Lab, and the Mini-documentaries. We learned how to stream from MS Teams to Facebook and this archived the Virtual Labs and a few of the open access Lab’s that we hosted in the past.

Naudé’s involvement as strategic guide in the project is key but he has a lot of demands on his time. He is engaged in developing a research project that will support and guide the Lab and in populating this website with the materials that will form the base of the new Nxazonke course.

The schedule below is a glimpse of the scope of the material that Naude has developed, and will also form the basis of the Action Research that is to come. This will probe the agency and abilities of both new and established entrepreneurs to design enterprises. To offer a really appropriate training programme, one that can help entrepreneurs make the most of township, local, global and sustainable opportunities in front of them, we need to know how able entrepreneurs are to establish not only new enterprises but new habits amongst their customers. As we are mostly concerned with urban agriculture, we need to establish new kinds of enterprises and new buying, eating and food wasting (or recycling/ repurposing/ compositing) habits amongst those urban agriculture serves. The farmer, food trader, food distributor and food reclaimer is key, and iZindaba Zokudla’s Nxazonke course aims to empower these entrepreneurs to develop better enterprises and engage with their communities in better ways so they can set up sustainable food systems amongst themselves.

The course is offered as an open access and free course. iZindaba Zokudla can not offer much more assistance than presenting the course, and we rely on farmers and entrepreneurs to participate and present, so we have material to refer to in workshopping the issues identified below. At each event, presenters will be recruited to speak on the identified aspects of enterprise development.

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For 2025, please see the schedule below: 

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Nxazonke: Urban Agriculture Enterprise Development: a Pilot course for 2025

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Welcome to 2025! My apologies I have been so silent. In the background a lot has happened. After we ended last year, I had to make 2 submissions to the UJ on the Short Learning Programme Nxazonke: Urban Agriculture Enterprise Development. This course is being piloted this year and will be expanded to 10 “classes” when fully implemented. I can happily report that the course has been approved, and this year I need to find funders for this! You are all participating in the piloting of this course, and I thank you.

The curriculum below has emerged in the iZindaba for the last few years, and I believe this is the basics that anyone need to start an urban farm. However, this is the start of the learning journey, and please do not hesitate to implement, learn, revise and implement again!

These dates have been confirmed, and please see the Schedule for 2025 below. In all cases, we will meet on Saturdays in B3 at 9:00 for 9:30 at University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus. Please bring an ID, Passport or Birth Certificate to gain access to campus.

Please also note the Facebook page, where the old events are archived. You can join the event through Facebook.

1. 15 Feb B3 Urban Agriculture: A Vision and Market Analysis

Urban Agriculture should not be seen as a romantic endeavour, or merely as a means to bring about social harmony. This it can do, but we need to take seriously the true sustainability of this endeavour, and the incentives and means to make it possible. This course is designed around a Zero-budget (I lie, funds will be needed… but perhaps not from a funder…) approach to urban agriculture. To do this, highly intensive biological production methods are needed, a comprehensive waste harvesting system, good knowledge and technology, and most important, direct to customer sales at the highest possible price. This needs to be differentiated from the competition, and inserted in the market in a highly strategic way. We will spend a lot of time on the key and Unique Value Proposition urban agriculture can bring to society: the reduction of food prices through he harvesting and repurposing of waste.

On this day we will set out this vision, and conduct a market opportunity analysis, so we can understand the market opportunity in front of urban agriculture. We will use this analysis to construct the enterprise in a very particular way, and this is the key to competitiveness.

They issues to note are:

• The critical inefficiencies in industrial agriculture and the supermarket system;

• The critical inefficiencies of Hawkers and informal sector sales;

• The potential of an urban agricultural enterprise with a (near) zero-cost base and high value retail sales. Why do you need a very steep profit curve, and how to achieve this;

• The potentials of a technology-driven biological production system;

• The potentials of high value retail sales and extensive product differentiation and design;

• The potentials of a waste exchange mechanism that enables customers to lower their own food purchase prices;

• The potential of events at the farm and social media marketing;

 

1. 15 March B3 Systems of Production for Urban Agriculture

The basics of high intensity urban agricultural production include a few basic technologies and methods. Besides the obvious but expensive candidates like hydroponics (which can be adapted to low cost) and aquaponics (which is infeasible on a small scale), we focus on high value biological soil based systems.

Deep trench beds represent a balance between access, low-cost, longevity, high fertility and ease of construction. We will discuss above ground and below ground deep trenches and the principles of biological decomposition and production inherent to them.

Issues to note here include:

• The need for planning and design of the production system;

• The need to source materials well ahead of time;

• The need to design for the multiplication of value in the systems of the enterprise;

• The need to include customers in the design and functioning of the enterprise;

• The basics of soil fertility and biology;

• The design and construction of a deep trench bed;

• The integration of several technologies with the deep trench bed.

 

1. 12 April B3 Waste Exchanges and Retail Sales for Urban Agriculture

You have to be extremely effective in sales. You have to sell at a similar price as your competitors, but offer the same at higher value. You could sell a bunch, say, for a similar price, but then increase the weight of the bunch. In this class we will discuss the following opportunities:

• How to offer a similar product to your competitors, but at a lower price;

• How to set up a bulk staple “special offer” sales system;

• How to start with retail sales: Host an event at the farm;

• How to Set up a waste for food exchange. We will concentrate on the following:

  • A food for food waste exchange;

  •  A biological waste for food exchange;

• A recyclables for food exchange; and a high-value biological waste exchange.

 

1. 17 May B3 Technology and Design of the Farm.

There are many technologies and activities necessary for an urban agricultural enterprise. These have to be integrated, and today we will talk about all of these at once. In this class, we will take a look at the following:

1. All gardens and farms need a beautiful name.

2. Design and plan your garden: take a look at “Permaculture” design.

3. Composting.

4. Liquid manures.

5. Biochar.

6. Deep trench beds and/or above ground deep trenches.

7. Intercropping and companion planting.

8. Mulching.

9. Irrigation.

10.Seeds and seed libraries.

11.Animals.

12.Tunnels and infrastructure.

13.Vertical, indoor and controlled environment agriculture.

14.Safety and security.

15.Enterprise development: A Shop.

16.A Retail system, including:

a. Grading of produce.

b. Pricing of produce – experiment with a say, 5% lower price than competitors.

c. Waste exchange mechanisms.

d. Partnerships with informal traders like bakkie traders for market-sourced produce (mainly staples).

e. Loyalty programmes.

f. Harvest specials.

g. Selling consumer goods.

h. Specials.

17.Social media.

18. Technology:

a Wifi and,

b. Develop your own.

20.Events.

21. Compliance:

a. Stakeholders,

b. Landlords, School Governing Bodies,

c. Parents,

d. Learners,

e. CIPC,

f. Utilities like water and electricity,

g. Infrastructure (make sure you own it),

h. Taxes and SARS,

i. Waste.

 

1. 2 August B3 Engagement Means

Events are a key marketing and engagement strategy for an urban agricultural enterprise. Your enterprise is decidedly “local”, and you depend on local customers, their wastes and their support.

Events can also launch the enterprise, a new product or service, and it can market the farm effectively. You need to be able to host events regularly on your farm to gain and keep your customers. You should also use them to educate your customers about the methods of production on the farm, and bring to their attention the value in nutrition, convenience, ecology and society you bring to them.

1. 13 September B3 Implementation and refinement, and How To Start

Many struggle to start an urban farm, and many struggle to optimise the farm once they have started. This class will offer a workshop on both, and will start a discussion on strategic planning that we will continue at the end of the year. I have realised the importance of this, as many farmers already create quite a bit of value, but the trick is to transform this into a business…

In this class we will focus on the following:

• How do we take the risk and start a business?

• How do I monitor implementation?

• Where can I find sources of value and turn this into cash and or production?

• How do I start planning and organising for the business?

• How do I integrate this with the seasons that govern agricultural production?

• Can we workshop an ideal way to start an urban farm?

 

1. 11 October B3 Registration, Compliance and the Enterprise

In this class we will discuss all the formalities that you need to know to start a business. The most important will include:

• What kinds of business are there, and how will this influence my enterprise?

• How should we structure the ownership and management of the farm?

• Can we talk about leases for land?

• What kinds of formal registration requirements are there for an urban farm?

• What kinds of Tax, labour, and other compliances should I know about?

• What kinds of financial systems are needed?

 

1. 15 November B3 Financial Management and Strategic Planning for your Enterprise

You operate an enterprise that both produces goods and sells them on at retail level. You are vertically integrated mostly, as you are able to manufacture most of the inputs you need for production.

Sales however bring in a peculiar resource – money, and here we will take a look at the basics of financial management.

Six words are commonly used in financial management that will enable you to understand the financial standing of your enterprise. These interrelate and together form a bookkeeping system that enables you to stay on top of your enterprise's operations, income, and expenditure.

•         Revenue/ Sales Income – The money you make from each thing you sell or each service you sell.

•         Turnover – The total amount of money you get when you add all the sales income amounts together. It shows you the total amount of money you received from customers.

•         Cost of sales – You must pay these expenses to make a sale. If it is products, like wigs or vegetables, then the "Cost of sales" is what those things cost you to buy or grow.

•         Gross profit refers to the money you have left after deducting the Cost of Sales from Sales Income.

•         Overheads or fixed expenses – You have to pay for these expenses even if you do not sell anything, such as electricity, water, rent, and wages.

•         Net Profit or Loss – This is the amount left after deducting your overhead or fixed expenses from your gross profit.

 

We will also look at the idea of strategic planning, and the financial information you have will be key to this. How do you plan for the future and how should you understand how the future changes? These are important questions that need to be answered and translated to the farm. We will follow a few methods of planning and workshop how you can actually use these.

Hopefully we can cover all these areas in 2025. I look forward to seeing you!

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In 2024 we will follow the schedule below. (Please note I am keeping the 2023 schedule for archival purposes):

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During 2024 we will be following a schedule that will approximate the chapters in the book. I am setting this out in some way below. Please be on the lookout for notifications on SMS, postings on Facebook and entries to the Blog. The schedule below is what I envision for 2024, and this Blog entry will be a guide for the programme in 2024. In each event, I will endeavour to host a prominent speaker! In this year, I will also be integrating my students with the iZindaba and hopefully we can see what needs to be done to link students with urban farmers. Please note that all these events are scheduled for B3 on our Soweto Campus but be on the lookout as we may schedule these events on another site or at a specific farm. At the time of writing 18 February, these dates and venues have not been confirmed, but I will update this blog as soon as this is clear.,

 

9 March Opening. In this event I will be presenting the overall vision and indicating what it is we will be doing this year. 67438

 

6 April In this event, I will be presenting and analysing the market opportunity for urban agriculture. We will further contemplate the Unique Value Proposition that is possible for urban agriculture. I have developed the recommendations in the book as flowing from this UVP as follows:

The creation of a price reduction mechanism for urban agricultural produce through the local recycling and repurposing of waste.

In this event, we will be conducting the analysis of the market opportunity ourselves, and we will be discussing and adapting this UVP for individual farmers.

 

4 May This event, and the next one will workshop the “Essential Technologies for Urban Agriculture” and elaborating on each of these.

 

22 June B2 “The Essential Technologies for Urban Agriculture” No. 2. We will continue discussing these technologies.

 

20 July B2 The key in achieving profitability lies not in production and technology, but rather in sales and the profit profile of these sales. To achieve such a positive profit profile, attention needs to be paid to sales and process, their integration with inputs and also the enhancement of sales. In this event, we will be looking at how to realise and implement a waste harvesting system and integrate it with your production. To do this, you would need to develop and implement technology, engage and form a partnership with a reclaimer, and build circular systems for the use of the material in production and sales. Hence in this event, we will be discussing Product and Service Design for Urban Agriculture.

 

3 August Once you have designed your products and integrated them with your input system, you need to develop a system to sell to customers. In this event we will be looking at the following:

• The setting of pricess for your produce.

• The integration of pricing with waste harvesting.

• The integration of engagement processes with enterprise development.

• The integration of linear sales, like bulk sales and convenience sales, with the sale of urban produce.

After this event, you should know how to set prices and how to make your produce attractive for urban customers.

 

14 September In this event, we will be looking at the process of registration and how to make your business compliant. You could be compliant to standards like food safety even though you are not registered, and in this event we will take a comprehensive look at how you should plan the registration and compliance of your business. This event is also worthwhile for all other entrepreneurs, and it would benefit them as well to participate.

 

Weeks before and following 19 October Please note that I will need to confirm this venue and time. In this event we will contemplate Business Plans and have a re-cap of the course so far. We will discuss business plans as many by this time would have become familiar with enterprise development, and the next steps would be to completely formalise the business and seek out bigger markets and stakeholders. We will discuss how to proceed on this path of enterprise development.

 

16 November  Please note we have deferred this event. We will meet instead at Siyoyisile Indlala Farm in Protea Soweto. The Farm is located on the grounds of Farranani Primary School. 

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In 2023 we can offer a limited course, and we are aiming to have a comprehensive course in sustainable food enterprise creation ready in 2024. All these will be hosted on MS Tams, so anyone with an internet point can participate. These will be streamed and archived on Facebook so they will be available to anyone. This course “Nxazonke” is aimed at urban farmers, urban food traders in the informal and formal sector, and those who are aiming to create enterprises in the extended food chain or system in urban and rural areas. This includes those interested in establishing businesses in food and biological waste, in distributing food (also from Fresh Produce Markets) and anyone else who is seeking a livelihood in a sustainable food system.

Please check Facebook or the Blog on this website www.izidabazokudla.com to confirm that each event will take place as indicated here.

All Times are 9:00 until 13:00.

Venues are Indicated below.

All events take place at the Soweto Campus of the University of Johannesburg, Chris Hani road, Orlando, Soweto.

Please see: https://goo.gl/maps/M1FVBPHmD9f81ajr8

Please bring a form of valid identification, Passport, ID document or driver’s licence to gain access to the Campus.

1. 13 May A presentation of “Nxazonke: A course in Urban Food Enterprise development.” Selected local experts to present their farms to the assembly. An Editorial on opportunity and survivalist enterprises and how urban agriculture (inclusive of food production, distribution and waste) can respond. Recruitment of farmer presenters.

Venue: B2 100555

1. 24 June Agro-ecological production for urban and small farms. A local expert in agro-ecological production. The 13+ technologies identified to be presented. Recruitment of presenters. Venue: B2 100556

2. 29 July Enterprise development. How to go about developing an enterprise. Identify your lowest cost transaction structure and build your enterprise on that. Circular and regenerative systems; stakeholder management; community education and engagement; sales and retail. This is an overall orientation to becoming an entrepreneur on top of being a farmer or food trader. Recruitment of farmer and entrepreneur presenters.

Venue: B3 100557

1. 19 August Product and service design. Here we get into the details of product and or service design. How to price and develop a product for an urban farm: the pricing, packaging, and narrative for marketing the food. Grade produce into 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade and what to do with it. What products sell the most? Services like food for waste, food and education, and the opportunity for the co-production (lets adapt this European concept) of the food by the community will be discussed. Recruitment of farmer and entrepreneur presenters.

Venue: B3 100558

1. 23 September Operations and systems. How do we implement an agro-ecological system and integrate this with Households and customers? How do we implement a circular composting system that processes food waste? How to build a food for recyclables system? How to implement the 13+ technologies from the 24 June session. Recruitment of farmer and entrepreneur presenters.

Venue: B3 100559

1. 14 October Marketing and sales. The brand and name of the farm; engagement methods; social media as a marketing tool; loyalty programmes; education programmes; sourcing from Fresh Produce Markets; Sourcing locally.  Recruitment of farmer and entrepreneur presenters.

Venue: B3 100560

1. 18 November THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO UNFORESEEN EVENTS! Stakeholder management: School governing bodies and leases; state, private and civil society actors; engaging with incubators; engaging with stakeholders in off-take agreements; why partnerships are more important than capital.

Venue: B3 100561

1. 9 December Feedback and evaluation of 2023. Planning for 2024.

Venue: B3 100562