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16 www. sasmallholder. co. za
Rand, where she has lived for many years with her family, initially had a shack on a patch of land which would certainly have been large enough to accommodate a couple of vegetable beds. Then the ANC government, quite rightly and admirably, built the residents of Etwatwa brick and mortar RDP houses. A great improvement in accommodation, with electricity, sanitation and piped water. But on the land which could have been used for growing. Having moved into her new RDP house, did my lady friend demolish her shack and open up new ground for vegetables? No. She kept the shack and, like all her neighbours, rented it out to members of her extended family, thereby increasing her monthly income. And she is not unique in the shack rental business. And can you blame her? The option of a regular rental income each month from Day One versus the option of possible free vegetables in the future if everything goes right over the growing season. Next, the traditional freestanding home with garden front and back like our parents and grandparents lived in is falling out of favour as young middle-class families opt for“ security” clusters and lock-up-and-go townhouse complexes. If they ' re lucky the residents of such modern edifices will have a small patch of garden in the front, which will soon become cluttered with braai paraphernalia and garden furniture, rather than with vegetable beds. But there are three other factors apart from space restrictions which militate against South Africans growing their own food. The first is water. For both rural and urban poor the
# SAFoodCrisis
provision of piped water ~ shortages and drought apart ~ is often a problem, and family members may have to walk many metres to a communal tap to collect water in a bucket or canister for the basics of life such as washing, cleaning and cooking. How likely is it, do you think, that they will make further trips to get water to pour onto a vegetable patch( notwithstanding the fact that vegetables, given their high water content, are more thirsty than, for example, flowers …)? The second is theft. If you thought crime was bad where you live, spare a thought for dwellers of, especially, informal settlements. Hunger does not breed honour and a big ripe cabbage growing in somebody ' s veg patch is going to prove too big a temptation to even the most God-fearing honourable soul, if that soul is hungry. I was once told of a strategy suggested by the Gauteng Dept of Agriculture when faced with complaints by women running township communal food gardens that their( white) cabbages were being stolen.“ Grow red cabbage,” suggested the department ' s extension officers,“ and sell them to whites.” Township dwellers apparently don ' t like red cabbage.“ Then take the money to buy white cabbage to bring home.” Next, there is a question of time. For the average employed urban dweller the weekday logistics include a pre-dawn start, a walk to a taxi rank or bus stop, a trip or two with changes, and a walk to the workplace, with the process being repeated in reverse at the end of the workday, often arriving after dark. Then there is the evening meal to prepare and
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