For Mahlubi Zibi, the fight for human rights includes the right to access nutritious food. His work as a human rights activist has grown into a food justice movement, now taking root at Jonguluntu Urban Garden at St Francis Catholic Church in KwaLanga, Western Cape.
At the heart of the garden is a simple goal: growing nutrient-dense food and getting it onto children’s plates.
From Eastern Cape roots to Langa soil
Zibi grew up in Langa, as did his father, but his grandfather was from the Eastern Cape. In 2022, Zibi went there to reconnect with his roots.
Once there, he found himself drawn into his grandmother’s backyard garden. As a young man in the household, he was responsible for ploughing the yard while the family grew their own vegetables.
“I was introduced to the garden unintentionally. Little did I know that later in my life it would actually come full circle and it would actually have meaning in my life,” he says.
In 2024, while staying in Ngcwazi, a small village near Alice, Zibi noticed another side of food production. Going to town could take a full day, making it difficult to rely on shops for everyday vegetables. He started growing his own food.
When he returned to Langa later that year, he started seeing growing food as something bigger than subsistence.
In a community where children could easily rely on less nutritious food, Zibi saw an opportunity to make locally grown food more accessible.
Together with his business partner, Mxolisi Tyiwa, a qualified accountant, they began turning the idea into Jonguluntu Urban Garden.
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Planting seeds for ECD nutrition
With limited access to land in Cape Town, Zibi and Tyiwa looked for a place where they could grow food. They found that space at St Francis Catholic Church, where they farm a 26m X 20m plot at the back of St Anthony’s Crèche, covering about 520 square metres.
Their focus was the children at the crèche. “We were concerned about the lack of a nutrient-dense diet in the ECD space as parents ourselves,” Zibi says.
The garden produces coriander, parsley, spring onions, lettuce, cabbage, rosemary, lavender, leeks, beetroot, kale, mint and mountain garlic.
He describes the arrangement as a win-win. The children get fresh vegetables, while the growers can also take some of the produce home.
“For us being accommodated in the crèche space, we share our harvest free of charge.”
They also sell some of their harvest through a partnership with Lima Ungemi Co-operatives.
Feeding the soil through agroecology
Comparing the sandy soil they farm in Cape Town with the soil he experienced in the Eastern Cape, Zibi says they had to learn how to feed the soil to help it produce well.
They collect organic waste such as leaves, grass and dead plants, which provide carbon, and pile it up. They then collect kitchen waste from the crèche and neighbouring tenants, adding it as a source of nitrogen to make their own compost on site.
They also use regenerative, agroecological and organic farming methods. “Meaning we do not use any pesticides or chemicals in our growing process but rather use organic methods,” he explains.
“We do not subscribe to monocrop farming. We use mixed farming as our way of growing food.”
Most of the work is done manually, using basic tools such as rakes, spades and sieves, while watering cans are used for irrigation.
“It’s very labour-intensive work and very manual operations,” Zibi says. “When we take care of nature, then nature nurtures us.”
He notes that avoiding chemical inputs is also a practical decision. “We are well aware of the devastating effects they have on the people and environment.”
The garden also uses crop rotation, with longer-growing crops such as tomatoes, carrots, spinach and cabbage rotated across the growing space.
Zibi and his business partner bring different skills to the initiative. Tyiwa, a qualified accountant, is responsible for the garden’s financial management systems, while Zibi focuses on the strategic direction of Jonguluntu Urban Garden.
Growing a wider movement for food sovereignty
Looking ahead, Zibi says they want to build relationships with other organisations and tenants at the St Francis property.
They have already extended the initiative to the Hamilton Naki complex on Bhunga Avenue, where they have installed a community food garden.
“The idea behind the concept is for people to come and tend to the garden and, in return, harvest what they need to sustain life.”
For Zibi, the bigger vision is to see more households growing something they can eat.
He says the initiative is working towards a Mzansi where households have access to food they can grow themselves, while also contributing to environmental sustainability and helping to fight poverty.
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