Tuesday’s market comes to you – just sign up for a Harvest of Hope box of fresh naturally grown produce.
Abalimi: Harvest of Hope is an organic farming initiative that uses micro-farming techniques to create jobs and feed the underprivileged. With approximately half of Cape Town’s population living outside the mainstream economy – 40 percent of township residents are unemployed and most are malnourished – the project is a cheap and eco-friendly way to address South Africa’s poverty problem.
Here’s how it works: Participants are responsible for locating their own block of land. Then, in only four days, Abalimi teaches the soon-to-be-farmers everything they need to know about growing crops.
There are currently more than 4,000 micro-farmers around Cape Town, yet demand is still heavily outweighing supply.
Much of the harvested crops are then transported to Abalimi’s headquarters in Philippi. The fresh produce is boxed and delivered to 25 different Cape Town locations. A small box is priced at R87 and a large costs R121. The vegetables and fruits included vary by season.
“Cape Town is not a city. It’s a farm with a city in it. We are slowly reviving that farm.” — Abalimi Co-Director, Rob Small
Despite Abalimi’s success since beginning in 2008, government subsidization is almost nonexistent. Most of Abalimi’s funding comes from private donors. If you would like to donate, click here!
This morning, I attended Abalimi’s tour given every Tuesday from 9:00 – 12:00. The tour leads groups to several mico-farms as well as the produce packaging site.
In last week’s article Now Trending: #organic, I described the difficulty of producing organic products and the reasons why few market vendors are completely sustainable or organic. Abalimi is the rare exception; I saw workers individually picking slugs and snails off each plant, and “genetically modified” is not a part of Abalimi farmers’ vocabulary.
The mobile market does not provide the experience or variety of food that most food markets offer, but it compensates with convenience and quality assurance. By signing up for a Harvest of Hope box, you are not only guaranteeing yourself fresh, naturally grown produce, but you are also helping to combat hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation.
Harvest of Hope “aims to sell vegetables in a very direct, friendly and personal way so that farmers benefit from a secure and fair income while customers benefit from reasonably priced and locally produced (low carbon footprint!) organic vegetables.” –-Abalimi’s website
Promoting all things green (by design), I’m Douglas Calvin Hinkel via Cape Town Green Map.
