A Harvest of Hope at Baetapele

It is a cheerful day at Baetapele Garden in Mafuko, Ward 16. Women and men spread across the raised potato beds, carefully digging and filling their buckets. As the harvest grows, so does the excitement. A young woman starts a song, another person joins in, and soon the whole garden comes alive with singing, celebration and excitement.

By Lynnia Ngwenya

Every potato that comes out of the soil brings another smile. Some farmers proudly hold up the biggest ones, while others continue digging, eager to see what is still hiding beneath the soil.

Among them is 54-year-old Sibongile Nyathi, a grandmother of three. With her bucket beside her, she carefully digs through the soil, searching for potatoes. Each time she finds one, her smile tells a story of its own.

Not so long ago, Sibongile was one of the thriving gardeners along the riverbank. With one of her children struggling to secure a stable job, she carried an extra responsibility.

“We would wake up very early so that we could reach the riverbank before the heat of the day,” she recalls.

Day after day, she made the journey, worked the soil and cared for her crops. Even the little harvest mattered.

“We would grow vegetables (amaxhakela) and tomatoes.”

However, depending on only one type of crop was never enough for people like Sibongile. They had to keep farming because it was one of the few ways they could support their families, yet the income often did not match the amount of work they put in.

“Unfortunately, life could not wait with us. Our families still had needs, and there were always gaps that needed to be filled, whether we had harvested or not.”

Back at Baetapele Garden, the story has changed, hopes have been renewed. For the first time, Sibongile and the other garden members are harvesting potatoes.

As they sing ‘Baetapele asihlali phezu kwezandla siyesebenza asihlali phezu kwenzandla’ (Baetapele is not sitted on their hnds, they are hard worksers) you can feel the unity, the months of hard work and the happiness.

“This is our first harvest, and we are very happy with what we are seeing,” Sibongile says, holding up some of the potatoes.

She bends over one of the raised beds and gently moves the soil with her hands. One potato appears, then another. She reaches deeper and finds more. Soon, her bucket begins to fill.

“We did not know how the crop would perform, but today we can see that our hard work has paid off.”

Around her, other women and men are doing the same. Every successful dig brings excitement.

For Sibongile, the full buckets mean much more than a successful harvest. They represent an opportunity she did not always have along the riverbank the chance to grow different crops and earn more from her work.

“We would sell amaxhakela for R5 or R10, but there was very little profit. Sometimes the drought would persist, forcing us to stay at home and wait for a better season.”

For Sibongile, the expected income from the potato harvest could also change life inside most of the women’s homes.

“Our husbands will now look at us with a sweeter eye,” Sibongile says with a laugh. “We are no longer just sitting at home waiting for them to provide. We are also bringing something home.”

She explains that when women spend most of their time at home without their own source of income, they often depend on their husbands for many household needs.

But with Baetapele Garden, the women now have something of their own to work for and contribute.

Among the voices singing across Baetapele Garden is Appear Ncube, a young woman in her late twenties. She is the one who starts the song.

Appear has the excitement of the first potato harvest, it carries a special meaning for young people.

“As young women, we are happy because the garden gives us something productive to do,” she says. “Instead of spending most of our time sitting at home, we come here, work together and grow crops that give us money.”

She believes the opportunity to earn an income can help young women become more active contributors in their homes.

“When you are also bringing something home, even the way you are viewed changes. You feel proud because you know that you are contributing to your family,” she adds.

For Appear and other young women, Baetapele is therefore more than a place to grow crops. It is a place where they can work, learn, earn and look towards the future with greater confidence.

Perhaps that is why Appear’s song carries so much joy today. It is not only a song for the potatoes coming out of the soil, it is a song for the new possibilities growing with them.

Among the women harvesting through the potato beds is Simon Nyathi, the 61-year-old Baetapele Garden Chairperson.

 He digs, laughs and joins in the songs as buckets continue to fill. For him, being part of Baetapele also means supporting women as they work towards becoming more economically independent.

“When women have opportunities to work and earn an income, it strengthens our families and our community.”

Simon explains that when the potatoes are sold, they will not simply divide all the money among themselves.

“A portion will first be set aside for garden maintenance, it will ensure the repair of equipment and keep the garden productive,” Simon explains.

They will also contribute towards an emergency fund to help the group respond to unexpected challenges.

“We have to think about tomorrow,” he says “After that, the remaining profit will be shared among the members so that they can use it in their households.”

The journey to this first harvest has not always been easy. Bringing different people together, making decisions as a group and adjusting to a new way of farming has come with its own challenges.

But the members have learnt that disagreements do not have to stop their progress.

Through the peacebuilding lessons provided by BIC-CDS under the LINCZ Project, members have learnt the importance of talking through their differences, listening to one another and finding peaceful ways of resolving misunderstandings.

Among them are trained community peacebuilders like Appear, who help encourage dialogue whenever challenges arise.

“We may not always agree on everything, but we have learnt to sit down, talk and find a way forward,” Appear explains. “We cannot allow small misunderstandings to destroy what we are building together.”

Perhaps that is what Baetapele “going forward” truly means-not a journey without challenges, but a community that continues to find a way forward despite them.

The potato harvest may be the reason for today’s songs and celebrations, but it is not the only hope growing at Baetapele Garden.

Across the garden, cabbages are almost ready for harvesting, tomatoes are growing, and amaxhakela are already waiting for the market. For the members, this means that when one crop leaves the garden, another is getting ready to follow.

So far, they have packaged 54 pockets of potatoes, ranging from 3kg, 5kg, 7kg to 10kg, with more potato beds still waiting to be dug. The members are already exploring markets within their local communities, Gwanda Town and Bulawayo.

Even the baby potatoes have a purpose. They will be sold as seed for future planting.

At Baetapele, nothing goes to waste. Every potato matter, every harvest matter, and every cent count.

With cabbages almost mature, tomatoes growing and amaxhakela ready for sale, the members are beginning to see the possibility of having produce to sell at different times rather than depending on a single crop or harvest.

For Sibongile, this means another opportunity to contribute towards the needs of her family.

For young women like Appear, it means having something productive to do and an opportunity to earn.

For Simon and the rest of the members, it means building a garden that can continue supporting families while also setting aside money for its own future.