Subsistence leads to a world stage
NONHLANHLA Joyi started farming to put food on the table for her family, but now she is to represent the country on an international stage.
Joyi, 51, a farmer from Cato Manor, will represent South Africa in France in March, where she will be competing with nine other women in the Elle Impact Awards – for women who have made an impact in rural economies.
She won second prize in a KZN Department of Agriculture agro-processing contest this year.
Joyi never thought she would travel overseas and be recognised for having changed others’ lives.
She decided to focus on farming after falling ill and retiring early from a non-profit organisation where she had worked for 10 years.
The mother-of-three said she turned to farming when she realised it was the only thing she could do to put food on the table for her family.
“I grew up in Maphumulo and have done this (growing crops) for a long time, I knew I could survive,” she said.
Joyi said most people have done well farming in her community, but she wanted to do it in a different way because she lacked growing space.
She uses plastic bags to maximise her gardening space.
Her main goal was to provide for her children, but her idea was well executed and drew attention from neighbours, who ended up buying her produce. She said people saw a difference in her garden and her crops were organic.
But the road has been bumpy for Joyi.
“I was devastated when I went to my garden and found my crops gone. They had been eaten by chickens. I was depressed and had a pity party,” she said.
After that, Joyi applied a simple urban farming method. She developed mini-tunnels using plastic bags to grow vegetables and herbs organically. The method took minimal water and limited energy.
Joyi said: “My gardening is accessible for older people and those with disabilities. “
In the self-made tunnels, Joyi grows organic spinach, lettuce, cabbage, beetroot and herbs. Her business is booming as she also supplies supermarkets, restaurants and hospitals in Durban. In need of more hands, Joyi decided to involve more women and youth from her community.
“I noticed that many of them do the same thing (farm vegetables) solo, but in different ways.
“They lacked business skills and it was hard to access the markets. As somebody who has the knowledge, I was willing to transfer my skills and uplift others,” she said.
She also formed a co-operative, Umgibe Farming Organic and Training Institute, which comprised more than 30 co-operatives in KwaMashu, Inanda, Mbumbulu and other parts of the province.
Working with other co-operatives has enabled her to meet the market demand and create more jobs for her community.
Her co-operative is divided into three categories: urban farming, agro-processing and retailing.
They process vegetables and make frozen vegetable mixes and bottled vegetables.
Involving others has taken her business to a higher level.
Fikile Chonco, a retired nurse who also joined her, said: “I met Nonhlanhla during the exhibition of her processed vegetables and I was interested in working with her. She encourages one to eat healthily which we all strive to do. I have learnt a lot under her leadership and I’m happy for what she has achieved.”
For her future, Joyi said she wanted to build a factory for her institute so she could provide a larger space for members of her community who grow vegetables and help them to produce more so they could build the client base.
“I told our children at various schools that food does not come from supermarkets but from our back yards. Most of them think farming is a dirty job, but using my method anyone can grow vegetables.”