Growing food is therapy for Kerry-Anne Peterson of Mbhedula near Klaarwater, KwaZulu-Natal. From a tough childhood, losing her mother whom she had only known for a year, to finding her feet after retail did not work out, farming has been her refuge.
Peterson would face many obstacles in her life before she would find her passion in farming.
She grew up in Mariannridge near Pine Town, in KZN with her paternal family. She was five years old when she and her sister went to live with the family.
However, Peterson tells Food For Mzansi that they had a hard life. There were roughly 10 kids in the household, and according to her, she and her older sister Cindy had to care for the other kids and do hard household chores.
“We were tormented in such a manner that even the food we would consume was only porridge, before and after school. That was quite difficult and heartbreaking,” she says.
A tough childhood
She says she ran away to friends, and later dropped out of school while Cindy went on to reside with a friend’s family.
Peterson lived with various friends until she found her biological mother and moved in with her before she died in 2003. She has remained at her mother’s home since then.
“I finally discovered where my mother lived. I went to her place and moved in with her. Sadly, the following year she passed away after succumbing to HIV-related complications.”
According to Peterson, she aspired to be a nurse, but circumstances did not provide her with the opportunity. One of her assets is her ability to keep people close. She feels that assisting others heals her. “My heart melts when I make something nice for someone.”
Escaping a toxic environment
Growing up, she thought that to be a farmer, she would need a larger plot of land and a substantial sum of cash. However, she would later find ways and means to start farming in other ways.
After working in the retail industry, Peterson decided to start producing vegetables. The retail atmosphere was not fruitful for her, she says.
“I really regret wasting my time working in retail. I believe that if I had begun farming a long time ago, ngabe ngikude (I would have made a lot of progress by now). Maybe I would have owned a soup kitchen.
“As a spiritually gifted person, working with and interacting with many people gave me anxiety. The atmosphere would just make me cry.”
She founded Asakuhlekonke Community Outreach and started mixed farming in June 2022.
Peterson approached the councillor for ward 17, Cedric Nonozo Khwela, about giving her municipality land near her mother’s home. She got the land and started right away.
She began by planting 500 cabbages, chillies, spinach, beetroot, pumpkins, tomatoes, and green peppers on two hectares of municipal land.
“I began with 500 cabbages and lost approximately 200. I just didn’t realise I needed to know when to cultivate cabbage. However, all of my hard work is paying off.”
This farmer enjoys shaking things up often. She is all about offering love, hope, and a positive environment. One of her bigger aspirations is to welcome the homeless, provide them with warm meals, teach them how to cultivate their own food and distribute the love she yearned for as a child.
“I had such a difficult childhood, which is why I want to do good and feed children since I know what it’s like to go to bed on an empty stomach.”
“I want to be more than simply a farmer; I want to feed the homeless.”
Starting an empire requires a community effort!
Peterson says she will be eternally grateful to those who believed in her dream, such as Sanele Khumalo, who volunteered to carry in herumgquba (manure) with his vehicle without demanding anything in return.
According to Peterson, water shortage is a major issue in KZN. When she encountered such difficulties, she contacted Khwela again for assistance with a Jojo tank, which is quite beneficial to her business.
Masande Menzi Shandu was also involved in the formation of her business structure, Peterson says, and she maintains that her venture is just the beginning of a communal initiative. She feels obligated to do more for the community as a thank you to those who have already assisted.
“When I quit my job with no funds, Masande provided me with money to get started.” He is continuously buying seedlings for the business.
Peterson says she is lobbying for the addition of livestock and a soup kitchen. After school, she teaches children about farming.
For her, this is only the beginning as she believes no kid deserves to sleep with an empty stomach. And she will do her part to help them.
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