Farming isn’t just about producing food — for many, it’s a path to healing and self-discovery. Sthandwa Bayeni’s story is a perfect example. Once known as the “rich makoti” from an upmarket area in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, her life took an unexpected turn. Leaving behind the comfort of estate living, she started fresh in the rural farming world.
Bayeni grew up in Chatsworth, south of Durban, and worked as a therapy counsellor at a rehabilitation centre in eThekwini before becoming a housewife. Today, she owns Inzuzo Farming, which operates on about 10 hectares of land where she grows green mealies.
“I met my ex-husband when we were young, and we worked hard to reach the top. We ended up living large in an upmarket estate in eThekwini. I had everything I wanted and never imagined I’d lose it all.”
Unfortunately, they divorced in 2019 and Bayeni had to start over in her village of Umthwalume. “That part of my life was the darkest. I had to go back home with nothing,” Bayeni recalls.
Unemployed and without an income, she started selling women’s clothes, chips, stock sweets, ice pops, and blankets to the community and surrounding areas.
Starting small
In 2021, Bayeni’s cousin asked if she was interested in exploring an agriculture venture with her. Bayeni saw an opportunity she had never considered before, however, at the time, she did not know anything about farming.
“We started by visiting farmers and asking around. We were told about company registration, soil testing, fertilising the soil – things we knew nothing about,” Bayeni says.
After equipping themselves with knowledge, the duo started farming with butternut squash and later spinach in her home garden. She adds that the department of agriculture supported them with bags of fertiliser and manure. A year later, they went their separate ways.
In 2022, Bayeni was granted a piece of land of about 10 hectares by the community to grow green mealies. However, this land is not fenced, which remains her biggest challenge.
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“I am still using our home garden, growing green peppers, chillies, butternut, amadumbe, spinach, and I recently added sugar beans,” she says.
“As much as mealies have a good market in Umthwalume and for my customers in eThekwini, livestock remains the biggest challenge. The land is open for any livestock to graze, which hurts, but I have no funds to fence it.”
She adds that stock theft is another issue, as people steal the mealies at night.
Tough farming lessons and gains
Community support made it easy for Bayeni to build a market. Her humility, sociability, and connections from eThekwini helped Inzuzo Farming attract regular customers.
“I never changed the person I am. Even those who knew me from high school would attest that I’m still the same person.”
Being humble, she says, has not only helped her fit back into her village in Umthwalume but also contributed to the growth of her business.
“My customers tell others about my produce, and my business grows in that way.”
In 2022, she tried growing cabbage, but the harvest was a flop. For Bayeni, this was a firsthand lesson in the losses farmers often talk about, and the importance of always being prepared.
“I had a market with the local fruit and veg store, but they told me to come and fetch back my cabbages. They were rotten inside, and ever since then, I haven’t tried it again. That season of growing brought no profit, and I lost the entire harvest.” She says the community used the cabbage to feed livestock.
Growing and learning
For Bayeni, farming isn’t just about growing food – it’s been a way to heal and move forward in life. She recalls knowing farming from when she was a child, Now, as she reconnects with her roots, this transition is boosting her confidence and revealing a side of herself she never knew existed – the person who can grow food with her own hands.
“When my harvest does well, and my customers are happy, my heart feels great. I want to see Inzuzo Farming expand to include livestock and more vegetables, creating a market that moves from informal to formal.”
Bayeni reflects on how, when everything else seemed uncertain in her world, farming was the one constant. In that way, she feels deeply grateful to her community for supporting her business.
“It would be great if I could take formal farming courses, so I can pass that knowledge on to the young ones in Umthwalume and the surrounding areas,” she says.
“Although I know that something like climate change isn’t something we can control, I would like to learn more about how to prepare for the unexpected,” Bayeni adds.
She says she’s actively learning through workshops, seminars, and webinars to improve her skills. And this, together with her burning passion for farming, will put her on the path to bigger success.
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