Soweto Farm Grows Food, Skills

Siyoyisile Indlala Community Farm and Projects, run by Gregory and Nthabiseng Mkhize, leases land at Faranani Primary School in Soweto, South Africa. The Mkhizes transformed chemically depleted soil into a productive organic farm starting in 2019, after leaving jobs in marketing. They now grow Jerusalem artichokes and other vegetables, selling about one kilogram for R150 in Johannesburg.

The farm uses a circular system, recycling resources like rabbit droppings, urine, and food waste into fertilizer. They also employ a “snail method” for growing seedlings—rolling seeds in plastic—and distribute these to local families. Currently, the farm employs roughly six people and often hosts volunteers from the surrounding community.

The Mkhizes have trained four other farmers in organic methods and reach about 150 people monthly through an online academy. While the City of Johannesburg plans to provide shipping containers for expansion, the farm currently lacks secure fencing and sustained hail damage impacts crops. They continue to seek larger plots of land to scale their model, believing it can be replicated in other townships.