A #SoilSista in the true sense of the word, Tsholofelo Gaechose learned about the healing power of farming after getting involved in community development. She is one of the extraordinary women selected for Corteva Women Agripreneur 2022, a year-long blended development programme at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) Entrepreneurship Development Academy (EDA).
Gaechose spent her early career doing corporate work, but soon developed a passion for changing lives through farming. When she finished her cost and management accounting degree at the University of Pretoria, she started a somewhat traditional career. Her journey led to the insurance industry, where she eventually ended up working at Discovery Insurance in Sandton, Gauteng.
“I worked at Discovery for six years and that’s when my journey into self-discovery started. The environment there inspired me to question myself. ‘Why am I here? Who am I? What do I want?’.”
Gaechose’s work at the insurance company not only made her more aware of herself and her purpose, but also ignited her interest in agriculture. At the time she left the company, she had been learning more about behavioural science.
“I got introduced to concepts where I tried to understand how people think and why people do certain things. I was so interested in it that I started researching a lot on that. But I was also traveling to and from Sandton every day, and the realities were too different.”
Gaechose is from Naledi in Soweto, where living conditions are not the easiest. She says that, even if her family was not necessarily experiencing too much hardship within their homes, her general environment was highly influential.
“Growing up here, you are faced with the challenges that you see around you, even though you’re not directly affected in the household. The environment influences almost everything, including your perspective, and your definition of success.”
Her environment is precisely why Gaechose was so affected when she started getting involved in the corporate social investment (CSI) work she did at Discovery Insure. The company was contributing to the African Education and Feeding Scheme, a non-profit organisation with a branch in Soweto.
“We used to collect for and donate seeds to the organisation, and it was there that I met women farming in communal spaces. It occurred to me then that nobody needed to go to bed hungry. That was when I got more involved in the community.”
Growing up surrounded by poverty was difficult, and it bothered Gaechose that things never seemed to change.
“My reality was just too painful, seeing little children growing up without inspiration and a way forward. And things should be getting better, but they are not. Seeing the food security work done by the African Feeding scheme inspired me to do something, so I quit my job even though I didn’t know what I was going to do next. I knew that I couldn’t continue with corporate work though.”
A new start, a personal tragedy, and a place of healing
In 2018, Gaechose officially started her journey into agriculture. At this point, she was already an avid gardener, but she decided to extend her knowledge by doing a farming course at a skills centre in Emdeni. For a year, she learned the mechanics of hydroponics and permaculture.
“A lot of things happened that year. I was also pregnant and I lost my child, and I was in hospital for ten days. The day I got back home, the very same day, I went back to my garden. It was my place of healing.”
It was Gaechose connection to nature that finally pushed her into starting her own agriculture and waste removal business. The business, called Mutahad Waste Primary Co-Operative, is a collaboration with other women from her community.
“I teamed up with six other ladies who had the same vision of building community and when we joined together, we just knew that we wanted to make a difference. And we were all passionate about the environment.”
Under the Mutahad brand, the women were able to get a waste removal contract with the waste management company Pick It Up, as well as a park maintenance contract with City Parks. These contracts help the company stay sustainable, allowing them to do more community work.
“We found a school in the area where we started our food garden. We teach the children about farming and all about food. At the beginning of this season, we planted cabbage and mustard, but we let the children do the actual planting, and they help from the seeding up until harvest. We also contributed some of the harvest to the school’s nutritional programme.”
Inspired by new knowledge
Like most people who make agriculture their daily bread, Gaechose is incredibly passionate about the sector. This passion, she says, is what drove her to start the Corteva Women Agripreneur Programme.
“Even though I have the drive and the passion, I didn’t know how to turn that into a business. It’s all good to do community work, but I have kids and I have a life that I also need to sustain. The only thing that was missing is the business part. That was why I applied for the programme.”
Since she started the programme, Gaechose explains that her ideas around her co-operative business has changed, and the programme even pushed her to start her own, individual farming project called Kutasari.
“As far as Mutahad is concerned, I realised that the business relies entirely on contracts. After speaking to my mentor, who was appointed by Corteva, I came to understand that losing one or two contracts means that we will have no income. So I’ve since sat down with the team and relayed what I’ve learned. We are now in the process of changing our business plan and developing it into something else.”
The co-operative will now be focusing more on building a solid horticulture business, as they have the equipment for it. They are also expanding their food garden at the school, using the knowledge Gaechose has gained.
“The Corteva programme has broadened my knowledge immensely. This is the knowledge I needed to grow myself in the business world. I haven’t been an entrepreneur for that long so the information I’m getting now is pushing me.”
Gaechose’s advice to other women in the farming industry is simple. She urges women to have patience.
“I’m on my fourth year and still trying to figure it out. it’s not as easy as we make it to be. You need to be very, very, very passionate about it and have the patience to stick around. It’s not easy and requires patience. A lot of patience.”
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