In these days when food prices keep rising, having a vegetable garden is very important. Even if you have no money in your wallet, so long as you use your time and your strength to grow cabbages, onions, spinach and tomatoes there will always be something to eat. Sitting around doing nothing and  complaining achieves nothing so why not use that same energy to grow some beans? I will always share what I have with those who are hungry, but I wish that more people would grow their own food.

I was born on a farm near Kroonstad which means that I have had experience working the land from my earliest days but being introduced to SocioTech methods has improved my skills and increased my yields. Before, when I grew vegetables, I just cleaned the area, put manure down and planted. I didn’t
know about trenching, mulch or irrigation systems. Creating the trenches isn’t easy at first and many of those who started the training gave up. I kept going even on tough days, because I reminded myself that nothing worth doing comes easy.

This is a very tough place to farm. The sun is fierce. The rains can wash crops away. We get hail. Rats, birds and rabbits are also a big problem here. Occasionally I trap one of those rabbits and it reminds me of my childhood days. When I was a small boy I had an amazing hunting dog – a windhond
(greyhound) called Bamohloyile.