I am 33 years old now, but I have been around food gardening all my life. When I was a little girl, I would sell for my grandmother. She would load up a bucket full of the vegetables she had grown and send me around the neighbourhood. I didn’t like it (because I am naturally an introvert and I think that selling suits extrovert personalities better) but I understood that it was necessary to support the household and over time I came to enjoy it. I think it was good for me to be pushed outside of my comfort zone. I didn’t know it then, but this was the first of many life lessons that I have learnt from farming. I still find that sales aspect of my job a bit difficult, but I know that selling is the final success at the end of the growth journey. All the hard work is recognised and rewarded in that moment.

I have tertiary level finance qualifications but there are no jobs out there. Covid, and the poor state of the economy in general means that there are very few formal employment opportunities. If you want a job, you need to make it for yourself. So, I have decided that farming is my business. I work for myself. I have been trying to farm for about 10 years. Before I met SocioTech, my farming business was going okay but not very well. And then Kwena came into my life. I am so grateful for that.

Working with SocioTech has raised me in strength that I didn’t know I had. I started attending the training in about May of this year (2024) and I started digging my trenches in June. I have worked very hard since then. I have dug 13 trenches. All by myself. No help.  And I still plan to dig more. At the height of my digging, I was digging two trenches a day. Even three some days! It was like I was burning inside. Burning to succeed and achieve. It was like I was a flightless bird, finally given the wings to fly. I had never flown before and now I was flying. BBL gave me wings.

Sometimes when I was digging a trench, someone would walk past and say something foolish like ‘why are you digging a grave?‘ but I didn’t pay any attention to them. I have the support of my family and that is all I need. Anyway, often those same people are my customers. Everyone eats. All those people with formal jobs - the doctors, nurses, teachers and so forth - they are the very ones who buy from us.

I think the energy to dig so many trenches in such a short period of time came from finally feeling like I had the right information and support. Before, I didn’t know about soil preparation. I wasn’t aware of the damage that Blue Death and ant powders were doing. I was empowered by information from the SocioTech training. Since I started implementing, I have been delighted with the results. Big, big spinach. Huge beetroots. Not just big. Delicious too – I am a good cook, and I love trying new recipes.