Alumnus nourishes the community

Mawande Sigwinta, who recently obtained his Master’s Degree: Chemistry Summa Cum Laude at CPUT believes that the practice of African culture is impossible without agriculture as our culture is expressed through food, clothing, dance, painting, and music.

Sigwinta, who runs a garden project at Nomzamo Township, heeded the government’s call to utilise Heritage Month to foster greater social cohesion, nation building, and a shared national identity. The Project Manager at I-Afrikayam Project says his garden venture benefits an “immeasurable” number of people, including the patients of Nomzamo Community Clinic, learners from the local public schools, and students through an internship. On 24 September, I-Afrikayam will host its second annual heritage event to remind “ourselves about our traditions and norms and the important role they play in maintaining social cohesion and humanity, more importantly, emphasise that this is all possible through agriculture”.

The 29-year-old lad from Mthatha, Eastern Cape, started his garden project in 2019 after funding was approved by the Western Cape Department of Agriculture in 2018. The project’s name, I-Afrikayam, means ‘my Africa’ and its motto is ‘The land that feeds’. The garden staff members include four women and five males. They grow portions of a variety of vegetables using organic inputs to supply their own restaurant and the local community.

“The idea is to make the garden a tourist destination and specifically serve clients who are highly cautious about their health and food they consume. Of course, this is not a big market, however, this market has buying power,” he remarks.

I-Afrikayam services also include arts and culture, venue for meetings, educational programmes, and conferences. The project provides a platform for upcoming musicians, photographers, poets, and painters to showcase their talent. “There is a vast range of ways in which the community benefits from the garden, not only through harvest but the borehole water which will be of great benefit when drought comes.,” he adds.

During his time at CPUT, Sigwinta was fortunate to be selected by the Department of Applied Science to participate in an international exchange programme at the University of Bergen, Norway. He says the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen many losing their jobs, is an example where agriculture proves reliability for livelihood and self-sustainability through projects such as backyard food gardens. “I have managed to sustain, not only myself but community as well through vegetable soup kitchens. The garden currently employs nine people and we also take Horticulture students for in-service training.”

Last year, I-Afrikayam took five CPUT Horticulture students for in-service training. “Our main objective is to provide fresh organic vegetables to our clients, either raw or as cooked meals with a specific focus on indigenous African food,” Sigwinta says.

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
Email: boyceap@cput.ac.za