It has always been hot and dry here, but the climate is definitely changing. The sun is getting hotter, and the rains are getting less and less. And we have big problems here with the water supply. We cannot rely on the municipality. A lot of the time you turn on the tap and nothing comes out – they call it water throttling. So, all that makes it a very difficult place to grow vegetables.

It is difficult but not impossible. I have discussed all this with Jabu. He tells me that in other African countries the man of the house works 6 to 6 in his fields. They make their own destiny, and we should too. Complaining about the problems we have here doesn’t help. Cry as much as you want, but it won’t change reality. We need to make our own solutions. For instance, at my house the pressure is often not enough for water to flow out of the tap, so I have made a plan. If you fold your arms and wait for government, you will die with your arms folded.

I am trying to save up for a borehole, but they are very expensive and there are so many things that I need to spend money on – my daughter is in matric this year and she is going to study teaching in Cape Town next year. It all costs money. One of the things I learnt from Jabu is that there are always ways to save, budget and find opportunities for business. I am always on the lookout for new ways to make money. I met a lady who said that pomegranates for export are a good business so maybe I will try that. I am also thinking about doing dried morogo and then selling it in the centre of Pretoria or maybe Mamelodi. Those city people miss the old traditional African foods that our grandparents made, and they are prepared to pay high prices. Especially if it is our old school African vegetables. Go to Shoprite and all you see is those vegetables that come from Europe, but our own edible plants are delicious. Also, they cope better with the heat and the lack of water. Just look at that leroto growing so happily! Dried and mixed with thepe it is delicious. And it is very high in vitamins and minerals. 

We also need to adapt our farming techniques to meet these new conditions. SocioTech came at the right time because here in Maubane we were crying out for new methods because the old ways weren’t working anymore. They have given me new ideas and techniques that help me to grow vegetables even in these new, harsh conditions. They taught me how to create very rich soil and that combined with mulching allows me to retain water. Even before SocioTech came I had a sense of their deep trench method because I had seen it on Facebook, but this was my first time actually putting it into practice. Now that I have done it for myself and seen the fruits of that labour, I am very impressed.

Digging the trenches was hard work but I enjoyed it. Farming is hard work. This is not something a lazy person can do. Right from day one you have to have farming in your heart, or you won’t be successful. A lot of the people who started the SocioTech training with me fell away because they didn’t have this passion in their heart.