South Africa’s ever-present malnutrition challenges have been further strained by the impacts of Covid-19, surging inflation, rising food prices, and climate change. According to studies on food insecurity in South Africa, almost half of households run out of money for food during the course of a month, child hunger is estimated to have increased to 14%, and 40% of pregnant women report that they go to bed hungry. The scourge of chronic malnutrition, especially in children, undermines their capacity to learn, robs them of opportunities, and traps their families in intergenerational cycles of poverty.
That’s why we need initiatives such as the Velokhaya food garden, a project of the Velokhaya Life Cycling Academy, which is based in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Established as a non-profit organisation in 2004, Velokhaya aims to develop youth through education and sport. Since its inception, Velokhya has impacted the lives of over 10,000 youth through its free-of-charge programs.
Taking care of the nutritional needs of young people is as important as their academic and emotional development, which is why Velosphere planted the seeds for its vegetable garden a few years ago in partnership with Pick n Pay. Since then, produce from the garden has been incorporated into Velokhaya’s nutritional programme and shared with the wider community.
But growing the garden hasn’t been without its challenges. Sipho Mona, Velokhaya General Manager, says, “Since 2018, when we started planting our trees, they had issues growing and realising their full potential.”
Before the application of Sea Brix, the Velokhaya garden was struggling. Sipho and Mvuyisi were happy to receive the product.
Alex Platt, Director at sister agricultural companies Zylem and RegenZ, recently came into contact with the Velokhaya team and their gardens during a cycle race: “I was introduced to Velokhaya when a friend of mine departed from Cape Town on a cycle around the world in association with the Rugby World Cup, #RacetoRWC. Along with the adventurers, Adam Nunn and Ron Rutland, a group of us cycled from Cape Town to Stellenbosch via Khayelitsha, where we stopped off at Velokhaya to donate some bicycles and have a great cup of coffee. I was so impressed with their organisation and what they were doing for some of the younger community members by introducing them to cycling. This was when I noticed their veggie garden, and said to Sipho that I might be able to provide some assistance.”
Alex spoke to Sipho and head gardener, Mvuyisi, about the garden’s challenges: “Due to Velokhaya being an NPO, it relies a lot on outside help. Mvuyisi had limited resources at his disposal and was doing the best he could to get as much food as possible onto the academy's members’ plates.”
Zylem supplies agricultural inputs to farmers throughout Southern Africa to facilitate sustainable biological farming practices. Alex saw the opportunity to assist Sipho and his team: “We provided one polycan (25 litres) of Sea Brix°™, a general plant and soil stimulant. It is used widely across South Africa amongst commercial farmers, so 25 litres (at a 1-2% solution once a week) goes a long way in their veggie garden. Along with the product, we provided some literature on what goes into the product (kelp, fish hydrolysate, Amino K and Triacontanol) and how the product can be applied at different stages of a plant and tree’s life.”
Alex followed up with Sipho three months later, resulting in “one of the best phone calls I've had in 2022” because the product is working so well. Sipho and Mvuyisi are over the moon and can't wait to plant more types of veggies and trees.
Velokhaya’s lemon trees are now bearing fruit for the first time.
Sipho says, “So many people have said our soil is not conducive to growing trees. But since using SeaBrix three months ago, it is freaking blooming; excuse the pun. Even our lemon trees are now bearing fruit. Those trees were planted in 2019. We tried doing things to make them bear fruit, but nothing worked. We had a lot of naysayers about our land, but SeaBrix has enabled the plants to grow, and now we can try every other seed and crop. We can even consider integrating this into our programmes to teach our members how to grow their own food, and even send some of the product back to their homes for their families to use. The possibilities are now endless.”
Despite harsh conditions with limited access to resources, the Velokhaya garden is flourishing with the help of SeaBrix.
With the increase in fuel and fertiliser costs, buying commercially grown food in supermarkets will continue to become more expensive, and there’s an urgent need to encourage and educate people about growing their own food. Community gardens such as the Velokhaya garden are an integral part of the solution.
Alex concludes: “Our mission at Zylem is to improve human health and nutrition, focusing on sustainably improving soil health and plant health. Being able to contribute to Velokhaya’s ongoing success is part of what makes our work so worthwhile.”
About Velokhaya
The overall purpose of Velokhaya—which takes its name from the French word for cycling (velo) and the Xhosa word for home (khaya)—is to achieve ‘Growth through Cycling’; to give underprivileged children in South Africa the skills and the opportunities they need to make a success of their lives—in other words, to develop as champions, both on and off the bike.
Velokhaya uses the sport of cycling as a platform for growing and empowering children living in marginalised communities in South Africa, and we do this by implementing a range of holistic development programs aimed at improving education, developing human potential and teaching valuable life skills.
Visit Velokhaya's website to find out what they do and see if you can assist them: https://velokhaya.org/.
About Zylem
For three decades, Zylem has been forging the future of regenerative farming throughout Southern Africa. The company provides agricultural technical services and facilitates the supply of sustainable agricultural inputs.
Zylem’s mission is to improve human health and nutrition by offering integrated products and services to the extended agricultural and horticultural communities of Southern Africa, with a focus on sustainably and regeneratively improving soil health and plant health; and applying innovations in crop production technology.
Its client base consists of established, extensive and intensive farming organisations that place a high value on being at the forefront in their respective fields.
