Harvest of Hope is Back
After a three year break in operations, we are excited to share that Harvest of Hope relaunched in September 2022. Originally established in 2008 with the aim of providing market access to farmers who wanted to sell surplus veggies. HOH started marketing veggies from farmers in the townships long before anybody else was doing it. What started as a humble offering to school communities, grew to a shift in the market and encouraged other organizations to buy vegetables from the townships.
Our relaunch features one key difference; the initiative is being lead entirely by the farmers themselves whilst Abalimi will support in a mentoring role. In the first two months since restarting operations, farmers had already produced and sold over 2 tons of vegetables.
We intend to develop Harvest of Hope to deliver results just like in the past where over a period of 11 years we sold over R16 million worth of vegetables, of which around R10 million was paid directly to farmers. Veggies were grown at about 70 different gardens scattered around the townships, annually supporting around 245 farmers and their 1225 dependents. This was maintained over 11 years, and we believe the Harvest of Hope initiative can help farmers sustain their futures and grow from strength to strength.
Abalimi is providing a mentorship role and some logistical support, however the process is entirely driven by the farmers for the farmers. All the money that is paid goes directly to the farmers and the aim to provide market access through Harvest of Hope.
We would like to thank Ladles of Love for their support in helping us to get this off the ground. They realised the needs of the farmers and stepped in to buy surplus veggies for their soup kitchens and Feed the Soil clients.
We are now in a position to welcome new clients to the relaunched Harvest of Hope. We would love to hear from those interested such as wholesalers, businesses, restaurants or hotels about taking part. Due to logistical reasons we will however not be doing the box scheme, but hope that you can get our veggies through other channels.
You can contact us via email harvestofhopefarmers@gmail.com or phone 068 226 5905.
Harvest of Hope
Harvest of Hope was set up as a market which connected the farmer to the customer in 2008 when few, if any, other companies were buying veggies from the township. It aimed to be a community-supported agriculture system (commonly referred to as a CSA model) that connected the producer and consumers within the food system more closely. It allowed the consumer to subscribe to the harvest of the Abalimi farmers and thus share the risks of farming through the purchase of fresh organic vegetable boxes.
Harvest of Hope was initially a project that operated as an extension of the services offered by Abalimi Bezekhaya (meaning farmers of the home in isiXhosa), a non-profit organisation. Abalimi’s aim is to provide basic human necessities for indigent persons, by assisting impoverished groups and communities within the area of greater Cape Town known as the Cape Flats to establish and maintain their own vegetable gardens, so as to enable those groups and communities to supplement their existing, inadequate supply of food.
Abalimi is focused on the advancement of food security through providing support and training residents of townships to grow their own vegetables. Harvest of Hope linked the farmer’s produce with the market demand for healthy, chemical and pesticide free, locally grown vegetables.
Harvest of Hope guaranteed the purchase of the vegetables grown by the Abalimi farmers, allowing them to focus on building their skills and ensuring that their vegetables are of the highest quality. Abalimi provided support to the farmers in production planning, soil infrastructure, planning harvests, access to seeds and seedlings, vegetable transportation, and financial services to be able to run their micro farms.
Harvest of Hope was a relationship built on trust between the Abalimi urban farmers and the members of Harvest of Hope. This trust built income security for the farmers, as well as more availability of healthy food for families across Cape Town.
Currently Harvest of Hope is run by farmers selected from the community, while Abalimi provides mentorship, logistical support and training.
Who were our members?
Our members are our farmers. They are a group of around 60 farmers operating on 25 different micro-farms in the Cape Flats who grow their vegetables organically. They have paid a membership fee to join HOH and contribute towards the transportation costs. Jointly they run Harvest of Hope to ensure that quality vegetables can be provided to clients.
Where do we operate from?
We are currently operating from Siyazama Community Allotment Garden Association (SCAGA) in Khayelitsha. All the farmers are required to bring their vegetables to SCAGA or to Nyanga Garden Centre where it is weighed and quality control is done. From there it is prepared and sent clients.
