Strategic partnership turns a rubbish heap into a vegetable harvest

Mathabang Lekhula-Legula has transformed a smelly dumping site in Welkom, Free State, into a thriving vegetable farm. Her success is proof that when a producer is supported by the right partners, waste can be turned into wealth, and despair into growth.

- Lindi Botha

Standing alongside Mathabang Lekhula-Legula on her 0,5ha vegetable farm in Welkom, Free State, it’s hard to believe that the neatly lined rows of spinach, cabbage and onions were once nothing but a heap of rubbish.

The land she farms used to be an open field that served as a dumping ground. The rubbish piled so high that neighbouring houses were hidden from sight.

The smell, the flies, and the constant growth of the heap was an eyesore and health hazard to the community. But today the land is a productive vegetable farm that feeds schools, funeral parlours, and households in Welkom, providing employment for 11 people, and mentorship to the youth.

INDUSTRIOUS FARMER

At the helm is Lekhula-Legula, an industrious farmer who does not let opportunity pass her by. She grew up in Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape, where she farmed with her father from the age of 12, tending to cattle and planting tomatoes, beans and cabbage.

Later, when she got married and moved to Welkom, where her husband worked on the mines, she couldn’t ignore the lure of agriculture.

She started with a small backyard garden, planting spinach. Word spread quickly, and neighbours began lining up to buy from her.

“I realised there was much more demand than I could supply, and I needed to expand. I knew that the dumping site would be ideal since it would also solve the issue of the growing pile of rubbish,” she says.

Lekhula-Legula received permission to occupy the site from the local municipality and set about clearing the land. This needed to be done by hand, and she roped in the unemployed in the community to help her.

RESOURCEFUL AND INNOVATIVE

Today, Lekhula-Legula’s farm produces a steady supply of vegetables throughout the year. In summer, she plants pumpkins, potatoes and spinach. Winter brings spinach, onions and cabbage.