South Africa: Meet Durban’s urban farmers
Durban’s green team is reaping the rewards of resourcefulness. During lockdown they became urban farmers, switching from homeless to homegrown. Friends who jeered now cheer.
By Wanda Hennig
Daily Maverick
4 December 2020
Excerpt:
Meet “Durban’s green team”, which is the name this spirited collective of “urban farmers” – as they get a palpable kick out of calling themselves – have adopted. The idea to plant veggies was conceived during the first week of intense Covid-19 lockdown back in March 2020.
Before that some of them were living on the street. Others found themselves homeless when displaced by the ramifications of coronavirus.
They met at one of several safe haven refuges set up ahead of lockdown by the eThekwini Municipality, aka the city of Durban. In this case, a mini tent town on a swathe of municipal property behind, adjoining and attached to the Durban Jewish Centre, which arranged soup kitchens and offered all manner of support during lockdown collaboratively with the city and other faith groups.
Since word got out about the thriving little farm and the resourcefulness of the men behind this times-of-Covid success story – especially their organic veggies-for-sale – the whole deal has become the talk of the town. So, for instance, when a friend visited me for dinner a couple of weeks ago, did she bring a bottle of wine?
