In Africa, 80% of agricultural production comes from small farmers, most of whom are rural women.

In March 2019, Zingela Ulwazi launched Permaculture Explorers  a yearlong project in Orpen Gate Village in Acornhoek, Mpumalanga, for 20 women headed households. These households (118 people in total) were all well below the international extreme poverty line of US$1.90 (ZAR27.00) per day. The women learned permaculture gardening and set up their own home gardens to grow fresh food without pesticides or chemicals.  They also learned small enterprise development to bring extra income into their households.  At the end of year one, 95% of the women increased their income, mostly from selling vegetables they grew in their own gardens.

Graduation ceremony for the first year Permaculture Explorers, March 2020

A second class of 17 women from Orpen Gate Village graduated in August 2021.  Of that group, 82% of them had more income at the end of the program than they did coming in, with a mean increase of 73%.  All of them established home permaculture gardens in their yards and were growing their own fresh vegetables.   

In August of 2021, we added Permaculture Explorers classes to a new village,  Rooiboklaagte B Village.  This was the first class that included a set of invaluable lessons around mentality control, making wise choices and creating action plans to take charge of their daily lives.

“I was in the dark but now I see the light.  No more shame.  Now I’m all right.  Education is life!”  Khutso.

This was also the first time we introduced classes in how to manufacture, package and market home cleaning products.  The women have been assisted to set up a cooperative which is going strong!  We also set up a cooperative in Orpen Gate Village and they are selling the same products.

November of 2022, 18 women from Rooibok graduated.  It was such an exquisite day : the women graced us with a Grand Entrance, which you can enjoy here. You can also watch a slideshow of the day here; these photos, by the excellent Wild Shots photographers, really show the exuberance and joy of the day.

Graduation day in Rooiboklaagte B on 13th November 2022.

In January of 2023, we started new Permaculture classes in both Rooiboklaagte and Orpen Gate Villages.  We have 42 new women who are learning how to garden sustainably and feed their families from their own yard.

The research shows that in order to make it possible for people to lift themselves out of extreme poverty, you have to make a long-term commitment to helping people build new skills and learn new ways of coping with the daily stress of poverty. The marker of success and greater resilience is increased self confidence and self esteem, which we are seeing in all 80 of the women we are working with.

“When I joined Permaculture Explorers, my heart changed inside.  We eat healthy now and we never ate healthy before.  I am selling vegetables to people in my community and making money!” Teresa

Participants learned how to build a Tower Garden in their third Permaculture class, which is an excellent water saving device and a great way to increase yield. 

If you would like to be a part of this exciting initiative, please click on the donate button below and it will take you to our donate page to see your options.  We will share stories as we go along and update you on the progress of the project from time to time, through our email list. So please, if you do nothing else, sign up to be on our email list to be part of the journey.

Permaculture Explorers is a project in partnership with a number of different organisations – poverty has multiple causes so we approach this work from multiple angles. Thank you so much to our partners for your collaboration!