Hi. My name is Ria Mami Mathivha.

 

On facebook I’m Mami Mathivha. I am located in Protea Soweto. My home is in Limpopo. I have joined Izindaba Zokudla in 2019. I have participated in most live UJ Farmers’ Lab sessions.

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Let me take you to where I do backyard gardening. This space measures 11x1¼. The vegetables from here are for household use. I produce spinach, beetroot, carrots, onions and lettuce – interchangeably.

What you see here is amarantha/marog or tebbe morogo. This was as a result of the food tasting done by ARC when they were invited to the Farmer’s Lab on 14 March 2020.

 

Enterprise: We have registered a family business operating in Limpopo. Leaf and Grain is the business run by 5 women and 1 man. One of the women is a person with a disability. All are on equal shares. We operate in 3 tunnels – planting Chinese spinach, onions, and beetroot. Clients from the local community buy a lot of spinach and chickens from us.

We also farm dry beans in Kwa-Dlaulale (Literally meaning eat and sleep. In winter I go to fetch the beans to sell in Soweto. Our beans are packaged in 500g plastic bottles, labeled and priced.

In 5 years I would like to see:

 growth in Leaf and Grain business.

 

 Employment for 2-3 local people, especially job seekers with disabilities.

 

 UJ students benefitting from the WIL program are welcome to gain experience as we have a cottage to house 2 people sharing.

 I want to continue selling food at cnr Huntley and Hampton. So far, an application for compliance with environmental health had already been done at Region B, City of Jo’burg. Response pending. My target customers are UJ students.

 I am partnering with 2 Black young women owning an accredited private student accommodation at 26 Huntley, Hurst Hill. Both are UJ alumni- currently working. We need NSFAS students looking for accommodation. The idea is to grow bigger in 5 years.

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I wish Izindaba Zokudla to stay sustainable. I benefit and I share knowledge gained from this Forum with my family in Limpopo.

 

Thank you. #Phambili balimi.