Growing up in the tight-knit community of Manzana in Ngcobo, Eastern Cape taught domestic worker Zakhe Nkomo that growing food was a lifestyle. She believes that growing herbs and vegetables in your backyard not only provides your household with a steady supply of fresh produce, it can also be a way to bond with family members and destress from daily life.
She started growing her own food in 2021, using old bathtubs in her backyard. She grows spinach, lettuce, beets, broccoli, scallions, and cauliflower. But sadly some of these didn’t thrive.
Nkomo, who now lives in Gugulethu in Cape Town, says growing food is nothing new to her. Her aunt and her used to grow foods like maize, potatoes, cabbage, beans, and indyandya [wild melon] back at home in Manzana village.
She describes herself as an inquisitive woman and says that she has learned a few things that have transformed her into a woman she never imagined she would become.
“The fact that I was able to share half of my harvest with friends and neighbours during harvest time is all the satisfaction I need. If I had access to larger plots of land, I would use them to feed more people.”
Finding beauty in struggle
To Nkomo there are many benefits to growing your own food. She believes that it is a blessing that she managed to survive the trauma of Covid-19. Like many, she longed for a meaningful hobby. “I needed something to remind me how beautiful life is. It was too much to hear one death announcement after another.”
She says that growing food gardens can be a viable option in rural economies. “Growing our own food helps people make money, gives them more free time to reflect and focus on the positive side of life.”
She adds that she would never have known how important it is to grow your own food if she hadn’t met Gladys Gobodo Matolengwe, who runs a soup kitchen in Tambo village.
Nkomo credits Gladys as one of the women who is active in the community and who likes to see a positive change around her. She adds that it is good to meet people you share the same values with.
“What I’ve learned from interacting with people from various backgrounds is that ideas can be combined to achieve greater results.”
“When we work together, we can accomplish anything.”
Bigger spaces for bigger dreams
The greatest obstacle, according to Nkomo, is the lack of urban land for food production, which would eliminate poverty in black communities, beginning with schools and after-school programmes.
“I am aware that some children attend solidarity spaces solely to receive a meal. Due to poverty, some older children end up doing things they are not proud of. But if we could cultivate our own food on larger plots of land, we would fare better than in the past.”
She also says that if it were up to her, she would get the right training and learn how to grow food in different ways, like hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics. But being a domestic worker is taking all the time she needs sometimes to reflect on some things.
“I’ve seen people in Camps Bay grow food inside their homes, and it’s amazing to see. I am unquestionably gaining knowledge, which at my age is fascinating.”
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