In 2015 we experimented with setting up a community-wide “Farmers School” after a series of workshops in Soweto in 2013 and 2014. These workshops were not connected to each other directly and concerned the development of a strategic plan for urban agriculture in Soweto, the development of a teachers’ group for school food gardens, and a series of workshops on Soweto Campus to discuss a Farmers’ Market.
We did witness the emergence of the Soweto Market Place after this, and the opportunity is still there to set up a Farmers’ market in Soweto. However, many open-access events were terminated during COVID, and now that the lockdown has lifted and we can freely organise social and political events.
Please let me announce the opening of the iZindaba Zokudla Farmers’ Lab again.
We will meet on the 3rd of September at 9 am until 1500 in A1 TW Khambule Hall on UJ Soweto Campus.
Anyone is welcome and please bring a friend. The event is aimed at emerging food producers, food traders and any other enterprise that may have an interest in the food system.
I will announce who is confirmed for this day. We hope to invite two or three speakers on the Township Economic Development Movement and two technology demonstrations.
We will also allow anyone to make a presentation in the “People’s Announcement Hour” so we also support local projects and initiatives.
The iZindaba Zokudla Farmers’ Lab aims to develop a public laboratory where we can discuss changes and improvement of our food system. iZindaba Zokudla is developing materials to develop urban agriculture sustainably, efficiently and productively. We are interested in developing enterprise models that will operationalise sustainability and create productive models for enterprises that integrate the community, waste and other opportunities. We are aiming to build sustainable enterprises that engender communities around urban agriculture and food trade.
The iZindaba Zokudla Farmers’ Lab aims to be a link between emergent entrepreneurs and wider society, including the University, state departments, and wider stakeholders in business and civil society. It creates a public space where complex activities and projects can be contemplated. It creates space for the initial organising necessary for meaningful change to occur in our communities.
Anyone is welcome, and join us as we start the painstaking endeavour to create the society we need, starting with the food system.
The iZindaba Zokudla Farmers’ Lab 3 September 2022 in A1 UJ SWC 900- 1500
The event will be available on multiple platforms:
The invitation to the Live event is available here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1257448451681450
You are welcome to view and participate on Facebook and watch the archived streamed event: https://www.facebook.com/events/754723905634294
You are able to join the event remotely and with some luck participate on MS Teams: