After the sad passing away (demise)of Indlunkulu Irene, uMaMzila, it became imperative for iNdlunkulu uMaMohale to immediately return from Johannesburg so as to assume the duties of looking after the Prince and the general running/upkeep of Kwaphindangene Royal Residence at Ondini.
Besides all the other chores, she felt with so much land why not start a food garden for the homestead? Besides, it had been a long established vision of the Prince to encourage self reliance across rural communities. He has always held a view that just because people are poor and unemployed they should not condemn themselves to starvation, as long as there is land. To this end a garden team of 5 people was established within the homestead. The team started visiting Cooperatives in the area, as well as a Nursery. She also joined the Ondini Farmer’s forum to gain as much information as she could, before embarking on the home project.
In April 2019 seedlings were bought, the land that she had been allocated by the Prince, was prepared and planting began. A long the way iNdlunkhulu met up with Busi Khumalo from the Siyasisiza Trust, who provided the much needed expertise and knowledge required to take care of crops. Before every one knew it, in June 2019, Siyazondla 1 was born and had a bounty of organic vegetables such as, spinach, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, green peppers and even turnips.
The vegetables were too much for the homestead alone and Busi through the Siyasisiza Trust, helped source markets for the spinach and cabbage
Pick ‘n Pay and Spar in Ondini and Melmoth became customers. Another customer in the vicinity was the Nyanya Lodge, who regularly began to source their vegetables from Siyazondla. This little project, reconfirmed the need for food security in the Buthelezi community and surroundings. The area has a lot of fertile and rich land which is underutilised. It was felt that it was necessary to share the knowledge and a cooperative was registered under the name Siyazondla Kwaphindangene. Siyazondla fields 2 and 3 have been added to field 1. In conjunction with the Siyasisiza Trust and other benefactors, the cooperative intends to become the hub for the Nkonjene area of Ulundi. It will share it’s resources with the community and together they will pool their crops in order to sell efficiently and consistently to retailers in the area. Siyazondla 1. will concentrate on vegetables that are out of season. Siyazondla 2. will concentrate on spinach and cabbage which are a high commodity in the area. Finally, Siyazondla 3. will be used for planting avocado trees. This has been the dream of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Over the years he has unfailingly asked the people of KZN, to go back to subsistence farming, in order that they may feed themselves. It is the goal of Siyazondla (we feed ourselves) to fulfil this dream!
A speech by
In our economic climate of high unemployment and high levels of poverty, one of the most effective interventions by government is providing skills training. This enables people to take charge of their own development, moving them towards self-help and self-reliance.
I have always believed in continued education and skills development, beyond school level. It is not necessary to attend university to be able make a contribution to the labour market. But it is necessary to keep learning and keep engaging, because technology changes so quickly and the needs of the labour market change with it.
Short courses and up-skilling are essential tools to stay competitive. Even in the field of subsistence farming, there are innovations and new ideas that can secure greater productivity. Having the right information could be the difference between a bumper harvest and a failed crop. This is particularly true as we face climate change and the need to adapt and innovate.
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