Supporting collaborative urban food gardens, social farms and markets as a means to build socially, ecologically and economically resilient communities in cities in and beyond South Africa.
Location
Cape Town, South Africa
Urban Social Farming Practice and Principles
Organisation
Population
4.4 million1
Growth Rate
1.84%2
Key Stakeholders
Disabled People
Informal Workers
Whole Community
Other Stakeholders
Local NGOs, CSOs, CBOs
City Authorities
State / Federal Actors
Academia
Schools
Private Sector
Local Small Business
Donors
Relevant SDGS
Disruption
City and Sector
Scaleability
City-wide
Summary
Context
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72% of Cape Town’s low-income areas are food insecure.
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55% of Cape Town’s population is overweight and this is increasing.
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Only around 4-5% of Cape Town’s households are served by urban agriculture.
Interview
In this interview, Kurt Ackermann, who co-founded and manages the South African Urban Food and Farming Trust (SAUFFT), tells us how urban farming can help build social cohesion and develop resilience in fragile communities in cities, and how the Trust works with multiple stakeholders to shape new conversations and experimentation around the urban food system in Cape Town.
In the short excerpt below, Kurt briefly explains the big idea behind SAUFFT’s urban social farming approach. For the FULL INTERVIEW, please visit Soundcloud or Spotify.
Key Programme Activities
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Community engagement
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Education/behaviour change
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Community infrastructure
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Policy/advocacy
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Research
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Stakeholder co-ordination, network-building
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Technical support
Key Outcomes
Since 2014, SAUFFT has:
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Developed the Oranjezicht City Farm 0.25ha community food garden, which now benefits from more than 10,000 hours per annum in community volunteer time, and is recognised as a leading site/voice in the urban farming movement in South Africa.
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Established (and sold) the linked Oranjezicht City Farm Market, the largest of its kind, supporting more than 120 local small farmers and food traders, employing more than 300 staff, and accommodating 8-12,000 visitors each week.
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Developed design principles for urban social farming to guide the establishment of an urban social farm in any community which wants to initiate this.
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Twice hosted the Food Dialogues, multi-part speaker series and panel discussions including diverse voices involved in shaping the food system, and published the Food Dialogues Report to shape policy, strategy and priorities across all sectors of society.
- Photo Credits
- – SAUFFT
- Notes
- – 1 Statistics from UN World Urbanization Prospects (2018)
- – 2 Statistics from UN World Urbanization Prospects (2018), estimated average annual growth rate (2020-25)
