A local gardening project is R75 000 richer after being awarded as the runners up in the Food Garden category of the coveted national Nestle Community Nutrition Awards.
Masizame Community Garden Project have been working together for seven years and already have several awards under their belt, including winning the provincial Female Farmer Award twice.
A local gardening project is R75 000 richer after being awarded as the runners up in the Food Garden category of the coveted national Nestle Community Nutrition Awards.
Masizame Community Garden Project have been working together for seven years and already have several awards under their belt, including winning the provincial Female Farmer Award twice.
Nestle corporate communications officer Thembeka Somtsewu says Masizame impressed the panel of judges with their dedication and passion. "The winners were overwhelmed by happiness as they were surprised by the good news," she added. Masizame received their award at a glamorous ceremony in Johannesburg on Friday while being treated to lively tunes by a youth band. The master of ceremonies was storyteller and poet Gcina Hlophe.
The project’s secretary Linda Meltafa said: "We feel ecstatic about this national award, especially because we are not recognised locally. The municipality ignores us and we were recently told by the province that we are no longer eligible to enter the Female Farmer Award as we have won it twice already."
Zama Sikhali, an extension officer from the agricultural department who nominated the project, said he feels great about their success. "I’m happy for them, I wish they could extend their garden but there is no land for them to expand." He added that the group has shown potential to run a bigger operation but were hindered by the general lack of agricultural land in the Makana area. "I’m going to sit down with them and work out priorities on which the prize money will be spent."
The overall winner of the awards, Limpopo-based R&M Vegetables, walked away with a whopping R150 000, and the second runners up, Sizabantu from KwaNongoma in KwaZulu-Natal, also received R75 000.
Launched in 1993, the Nestlé Community Nutrition Awards pays tribute and gives recognition to women who implement practical programmes to combat the serious problem of malnutrition within their communities.
From 1993 to 1998, the award was run under the auspices of the Women’s Bureau of South Africa. However, when the organisation closed down at the end of 1998, Nestlé welcomed the opportunity to run the award under the auspices of Soroptimists International, a prominent international women’s organisation. The prize money is donated to the winner’s project to enable it to expand, as well as the opportunity to visit and learn from non-governmental organisations with a track record in development.
