Food activism programme

The following projects will be run by the Food Activism Programme. Other projects may be added, but these five projects will all be launched within the first six months of the programme’s inception.

Open Seed Network

• Establishment of online website, to facilitate seed exchange, information about food gardening, seed saving and form networks between different food growing groups and individuals nationally
• Facilitate and encourage seed saving training in food growing communities, as well as to the public
• Current status: database of interested groups and individuals established; web site currently under development, ready to launch in September 2009;
• To be achieved within the next six months: Website launched, seed saving programs developed and delivered to growing communities and the general public

Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs)

• Organising groups of consumers to buy into small producers’ crops at the beginning of the season, and either be directly involved in the harvest, and/or receive food from the project throughout the growing season (e.g. box scheme).
• Consumers would be given a unique opportunity to visit the grower during the growing season, receive updates on vegetable growth as the season progresses, and be involved in the harvest.
• Producers get a guaranteed market for their produce
• Current status: In conjunction with the Ethical Co-Op, we are launching a vegetable box CSA with Eric Swarts, a smallscale organic farmer in the Boland. It will run from February-April 2009
• To be achieved within the next six months: Box scheme to be launched and run

Hereboontjie Growing Trial

• The first in a series of projects to promote and market the production of traditional/indigenous, endangered or artisan food products, by local and particularly by previously disadvantaged communities
• Hereboontjies are a heritage dried bean endemic to the West Coast, not widely known and increasingly difficult to find.
• Current status: We have researched and developed growing guidelines in conjunction with our project agricultural advisor (technician at the Department of Agriculture).
• Along with this information we distributed seeds to over eleven community gardens in the Western Cape, through The Surplus People Project, Ikamva Labantu and Soil for Life.
• They are currently growing the hereboontjies, which are due to be harvested in February/March 2009, in a growing trial to test project feasibility.
• To be achieved within the next six months: After harvest, growers’ feedback and data to be gathered and collated.
• If funding is found, we will hold a Hereboontjie Indaba, uniting representatives of each growing community, to discuss their experiences, problems and solutions in growing the hereboontjie, and to decide whether to launch larger scale planting over following growing season, to establish a small industry growing, marketing and selling the hereboontjie as a heritage product.

Restaurant Week

• In collaboration with Cape Town’s top restaurants, organise and run a week of menus which showcase and highlight small-scale growers and artisan producers
• The long-term goal is to create relationships between restaurants and local food producers
• Current status: Still in research stages. Potential to have one restaurant trial run with Ikamva partner, Madame Zingara.
• To be achieved within the next six months: A full restaurant week to be organised and run.

Visible Food Gardens Private-Public Partnership

• Connect businesses and government branches to garden NPOs, which are then contracted to grow food gardens in visible spaces
• Training and food offered to company employees, or those in need
• Educational, indigenous and historical food gardens in the Company Gardens, perhaps in conjunction with Iziko Museum. Potential to incorporate an allotment, targeting inner city dwellers and organisations
• Food market at the Parade? Tying in with current projects revitalising that area
• Current Status: still in conceptual stage.
• To be achieved within the next six months: Explore the possibility of educational garden with Iziko, and if feasible, fundraise and develop project. Consult with growing NGOs on public-private partnership, seek out private partners.