Farming project turns unemployed into ‘new farmers’

Bekker - Irrigation

Vuyo Lee, Executive: Brand, Customer and Transformation at Mutual & Federal

A new community farming project was launched at Bekker School, near the small town of Magaliesberg, Gauteng. Named Tswelopele, which means ‘moving ahead’ in Tswana, this three-year project was established on three hectares of land owned by agricultural bo

By growing vegetables and raising poultry, the community will have a food supply for themselves and be able to sell the excess produce to Bekker School and the wider community. The profits will be ploughed back into the project for farming purposes for the ultimate benefit of the families.

This project, which is collaboration between Bekker School, Kops Communications & Projects and Mutual & Federal, was established to create employment and encourage development of a self-sustaining farming enterprise for the general assistance staff at the school and their families, who live on the school grounds.

The project is expected to generate much-needed employment and food security for the community. With the opening, the community now owns the farming project and has assumed responsibility for making it a future success.

Kopano Lebethe, project manager from KOPS Communications & Projects, said the project is “a dream come true, not only for the community but for all those involved in converting what had one year ago been weeds and dry land, into sustainable farmland”. The project was already creating employment opportunities, with four people employed so far.

He thanked the members of the community for their hard work. “What has been achieved so far was not by magic, but by hard work and great community participation.

This project is ‘generational’ in that it is not a once-off, but something that will satisfy the needs of the current community, as well as their children and their children's children. It is a true cooperative venture between the community, Bekker School, KOPS Communication & Projects and Mutual & Federal”, said Lebethe.

Guests who attended the launch include Adolf Ellis, Principal of Bekker Schools; Solly Hassen, of the Governing Body of Bekker Schools; Brian Callaghan, Head of Agriculture at Bekker High School; Phuti Tsukudu, Mutual & Federal SETCo Chair; Tony Hobson of Versa-Trac and members of the community.

Among the speakers, Vuyo Lee, Executive: Brand, Customer and Transformation at Mutual & Federal, laid credit for the success of the project at the door of the community for the great deal of group effort it put into it, and KOPS Communications & Projects which was the inspiration for the initiative as well as its project manager.

“In 2010 Mutual & Federal were approached by Kopano Lebethe of KOPS Communications & Projects and Tony Hobson of Versa-Trac with a proposal to start a community farming initiative. We immediately recognised the potential of this project and its synergy with our well-established agricultural insurance business,” said Lee.

Mutual & Federal contributed more than R1 million to this project which was selected for funding due to its alignment with the insurer’s strategy of supporting the socio-economic development of rural communities.