SOCIOTECH BBL FACILITATOR: Sibusiso Mbatha

I grew up in Nqutu, KwaZulu Natal. My mother had a food garden. We ate from that garden, and she sold vegetables to create extra income. Later in life, my wife, Sithembile and I kept a vegetable patch at our home in Katlehong. In 2019 I heard about the SocioTech horticulture programme. I was no stranger to planting, but I didn’t have any formal training, which is why I jumped at the chance to increase my knowledge. It quickly became clear that many of the methods my wife and I had been using were not very efficient. We didn’t know about the benefits of having deep trenches and we didn’t practice crop rotation. We were also using dangerous chemicals to fight pests. Thanks to SocioTech we now know better, and do better. We implemented what we learnt. Our yields and the quality of our crops improved. Healthy soil makes healthy food for healthy people. When the vegetable tunnel came in July 2020 the output got even better.

Soon we didn’t need to buy vegetables for our own family. We were creating surplus and selling into the community. People know that we have good quality, tasty, cheap, and convenient products. No one needs to pay expensive taxi fares to buy our vegetables, because we are part of the community. We didn’t stop with the horticulture training. My wife, my in-laws, and my older children all did the MyFuture training. After that it was MyBusiness. During the Covid lockdown I made my youngest son who had missed the earlier trainings (because he was at school when they happened), study these programmes too. You want your children to be ready for the real world, and now mine are.

From day one I was very excited by the program. I loved the message then and that love has never left me. People can rescue themselves. They don’t need to wait for others to rescue them. They must not delay. Start today! Do the training and implement! Make the SocioTech teachings a way of life!

Some people in my community started late and missed session one. I was zealous and willing to help my fellow participants who had missed out on that first day, because I realised there was vital information there. I couldn’t stand the idea that they might not have all that valuable knowledge! SocioTech’s facilitator, Charles Bisimwa (who was facilitating the classes) noticed that I had this passion for this training and that I was filled with the volunteer spirit – full of love for my people and the teachings. Charles started asking me to go with him to other learning groups to help. Gradually my voluntary role became employment, and I am now an official SocioTech BBL Facilitator.

If I look back on where I was and where I am now, it is amazing. I think one of the reasons that I have so much love and energy for the BBL Programme, is that I know what it feels like to be a provider who cannot provide. Previously I had seven people looking to me, and I was unable to meet their needs. I know the fear and depression that being in that situation brings. When I meet someone in tears, and I can leave them smiling, that is a wonderful privilege. There is happiness in giving the knowledge that frees a person. It feeds my soul. That happiness is a direct result of the SocioTech training, and I will be eternally grateful.

I find working with our participants inspiring. Every day I meet someone who inspires me with their journey. It is hard to pick only one person but as an example I can tell you about Sis Gugu in Palm Ridge. When we first met, she was a single mother, not working and struggling to survive. She had immense stress and the pain of not being able to provide for her kids. And now she has a garden full of nutritious vegetables, happy, healthy children, surplus to sell and she knows about budgets, saving and careful record keeping. Her stress has lessened. She has money for airtime and the confidence that comes from knowing she did it for herself. She continues to make steady progress.

Because I have been in the same difficult circumstances as the participants, I can confidently say that if you implement the SocioTech approach to life, you can go from zero to having more than enough. Everything you need to make it happen, is there. You just need the knowledge, the faith, and the determination.