Feeding Africa’s people cannot rely on a model of food parcels and handouts – there needs to be a shift towards sustainable agricultural practices that improve livelihoods and create food security. In support of this movement, a group of organisations have collaborated to create an agricultural ecosystem that supports the Eastern Cape’s vulnerable children and youth. Guests are getting a ‘taste’ of this potentially impactful programme at the Garden Feast, hosted at Daily Bread Child & Youth Care Centre in East London on Friday, 22 July.
The Daily Bread Child & Youth Care Centre was established in 1992 by concerned citizens of East London through the Daily Bread Missions Charitable Trust, and is located on two farms which operate as a place of safety for children, as well as a subsistence farming enterprise.
In 2020, agriculture accounted for around 20% of sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product, and while smallholders comprise the majority of the population, the sector’s full potential remains untapped. IAA, a social enterprise focussed on creating equality through leadership transformation, partnered with the Black Farmers Association of South Africa (BFASA), Daily Bread, Buffalo City TVET College (BCC), and Feel to Heal to address this.
The intended collaboration is focussed on designing programmes that aim to reduce the lack of skills, unemployment, poverty and inequality in the Eastern Cape. The partners are currently in the early stages of establishing an agricultural training framework to be offered by BFASA and BCC. The programme seeks to integrate the produce into agribusiness value chains, thereby creating sustainability for Daily Bread and building on their commitment to develop vulnerable children. The IAA and Feel to Heal’s roles will be focussed on leadership and gender equity. The anticipated success of this programme will then form the basis for a national rollout.
The four key areas of the programme include:
- Building communities
- Building agriculture
- Building leadership
- Building education
“This year, we’re also pledging our Mandela Day 67 minutes to the Daily Bread Child & Youth Care Centre with a focus on sustainability,” explained Chantel Oppelt, the Executive Director of the Institute for Applied Alchemy (IAA). “We were no longer comfortable with donating food parcels to communities where there are unlimited needs and limited resources, with this food lasting one day. We have had to re-strategise.”
The IAA has pledged its 67 minutes to raising R50 000 for Daily Bread which will be handed over at the Garden Feast hosted on Friday. Guests will enjoy a lunchtime meal that will include vegetables grown in the Daily Bread garden. Guests are invited to view the vegetable garden and purchase produce or make a donation to Daily Bread who will in turn distribute produce to the local community.
You are invited to attend the Garden Feast, or contribute towards the pledge if possible.
Banking details
Name: Institute for Applied Alchemy
Bank: ABSA
Account No: 409 519 6981
Ref: GardenFeast
Garden Feast details
Date: Friday, 22 July
Time: 11am to 2pm
Venue: Daily Bread Child & Youth Care Centre on the R346 Mount Coke Mission in East London
For further information and to RSVP: Anita Maggott at anita@appliedalchemy.online or 082 962 8031.
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Alan Straton
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