Women-owned bakeries in rural South Africa gain support from government, business community

devnet — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 12:08:44 +0000

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South Africa, June 2014 - The first of ten planned rural bakeries owned and managed by local black women has started operations in KwaMhlanga, north of Pretoria, South Africa. Aimed to provide fresh, quality bread at affordable prices to consumers, it also empowers women by training them to become successful business owners. With strong focus on giving back to the communities, these women-managed bakeries each creates at least twenty jobs for residents of the local communities.

Borotho Ba Rena (translated as “our bread”) bakery project has been designed and planned as community upliftment initiative, with funding support from Nedbank. Started by TIPS-South Africa (a project of the United Nations Development Programme), the bakery project has already gained support from government, NGOs and the business sector. Organizations such as the Small Enterprise Development Association (SEDA), Reach Africa, accounting firm Gordon & Partners, Ecozimes and White River Flour Mills also play active role in ensuring the success of the project.

The bakery project is being implemented closely with schools in the community. The school officials assist in identifying child-headed families and children who would qualify to receive their bread allotment daily. Since the introduction of this initiative, several Borotho Ba Rena partners, including pre-mix supplier Ecozimes, flour provider White River Flour Mills and motoring company DFSK, have pledged their support to this venture. In addition, several organizations are involved in giving further assistance to the children. Evangelism Explosion South Africa, for example, supports these children with advice and encouragement to strengthen their spiritual and emotional values.

“Without the community, I will not be able to succeed therefore, I believe it is important also to give back to the community,” says owner MakomaKekana. “There are so many hungry children in our communities. By helping them, I believe we can make a difference.” Borotho Ba Rena KwaMhlanga will support around 800 needy children in their communities daily. The other planned bakeries will do the same for the children in their respective areas.

Borotho Ba Rena project is based on four pillars: food security; upliftment of women; job creation; and engagement of the community. All are priorities of the South African government.

According to Nermala Reddy, senior manager of Nedbank Limited’s Enterprise Development Division “Sustainable opportunities that transform job seekers into job creators are limited in the current economic environment. The collaboration between Nedbank and Borotho Ba Rena offers an innovative approach to job creation, stimulating economic activity and creating stronger sustainable communities and households.”

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DEVNET/TIPS ZIMBABWE POPULARIZES TECHNOLOGY ON POTATO GROWING IN BAGS, SACKS

devnet — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 10:35:09 +0000

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Zimbabwe, April 2014 - DEVNET/TIPS National Bureau in Zimbabwe has intensified campaign on potato growing in sacks and bags, targeting women in households in urban and rural communities across the country. Over 300 women have already been trained on the popular technology of potato growing and production, not only to generate additional income for families but also to help fight hunger among the rural and urban poor.

Growing potatoes in sacks has become an emerging popular technology in Zimbabwe. Potatoes are planted in 50 kg woven polythene sacks filled with top soil and grown in backyards and open public spaces.

Advantages of popular technology are:

· Sack potato production can be done on a small piece of land.

· Sacks keep a lot of moisture, thereby potato growing becomes manageable.

· There is negligible loss of liquid fertilizer.

· It is easy to control pests and diseases.

· There is very little damage to potatoes during harvest.

The Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre of Zimbabwe, in cooperation with the TIPS-WINNER National Bureau, has done experiments and trials of planting different varieties of potato seed available in Zimbabwe, using different soil types and levels of nutrient management.

Based on the results of field trials, a comprehensive training module was developed and this is what is being used by trainors in conducting training of women and men in communities. Successful trainees echoed their know-how to others through community outreach and training of more women.

Empowering urban and peri-urban women in Zimbabwe, with the technical know-how on potato growing in sacks, can dramatically improve household food subsistence as well as family income. This technology is ideal for women who have limited land and have limited formal training in horticulture. Majority of the trainees who successfully completed the training program implemented their knowledge of potato growing in sacks right in their backyards.

TIPS advocates that before planting the potatoes these should first be tested for compatibility with the soil. To ensure good harvest, the right fertilizer is applied, as recommended by SIRDC. TIPS–WINNER Zimbabwe National Bureau already has a database of women trained on potato growing in sacks.

Zimbabwe has an area of approximately 390,000 sq. km. Sixty-six percent of the country’s workforce is in the agricultural sector (around 5 million).

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Women-owned bakeries in rural South Africa gain support from government, business community

DEVNET/TIPS ZIMBABWE POPULARIZES TECHNOLOGY ON POTATO GROWING IN BAGS, SACKS