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Mpho Twala – the girl with the land

12 August 2022 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo NONSINDISO QWABE

The Bachelor of Community Development qualification offered on the Qwaqwa Campus develops young professionals who are able to work collaboratively with the community to come up with initiatives that build resilience and sustainability. Before obtaining their qualifications, students are required to identify community needs and to come up with viable ways to eradicate these.

It was during this period that Mpho Twala, a recent CommDev graduate, identified a once-thriving community vegetable garden that had been abandoned and subsequently stripped over the years. Further research led her to realise that the soil was still very fertile, and with a bit of work, could once again be revived to become an income-generating business. She received her qualification during the April graduations on the Qwaqwa Campus, but she did not stop there.

Bringing change to the community through vegetable farming

Twala, with no agricultural background, approached the locals for permission to revive the 1-ha garden into a community-owned vegetable garden. “The land has been uncultivated for more than a decade, and after conducting a needs analysis, I didn’t want to leave it like that, because I saw that if I worked with young people, this would help with the high unemployment rate among the youth in this area,” Twala said.

She says she was driven by bringing about change in her community, which she believes was inspired by her studies.

“I’ve always wanted to do something in my community, and CommDev taught me to see opportunities instead of challenges.”

The vegetable garden currently has 17 employees, 10 of whom are under the age of 35. They are currently harvesting cabbages, various forms of spinach, and white onion – all organic – for home consumption and community purchasing. They also occasionally sell to hawkers around Qwaqwa.

Twala dreams of expanding the garden, adding more crops, and ultimately reaching commercial level. “We are currently classified under subsistence farming – farming for home consumption and selling the surplus so that the project can remain operational. But with the right funding and support, we can grow bigger and better.”

News Archive

Many changes for Shimlas, says new captain

2016-01-25

Description: 2016 Shimla Neil Claassen Tags: 2016 Shimla Neil Claassen
The versatile forward, Neil Claassen, will lead the Shimlas onto the field in the 2016 Varsity Cup. Photo: Johan Roux.

The University of the Free State (UFS) has a new group of rugby players, a new head coach, and a new captain.

This is how the Shimla skipper, Neil Claassen, summed up his team's approach to the 2016 Varsity Cup.

Although the UFS will start the tournament as defending champions, the 23-year-old Claassen believes that much has changed since 2015.

One of which is his appointment. The flanker, who can play lock as well, was recently appointed as Varsity Cup captain in his third series.

The former Springbok flanker, Hendro Scholtz, took over as head coach from Franco Smith, who is now the Cheetahs trainer. Mac Masina, former centre for the Lions, is a new assistant coach.

New year with more pressure

Because of all the changes, Claassen feels that the Shimlas will need a different approach to the 2016 tournament.

“There will definitely be more attention on us (as champions). However, the guys in the camp see it as a new year,” he said.

“There is pressure, but we don't focus on that too much.”

Previous leaders set example

According to Claassen, he has never before led a team for which he played.

“I didn't expect to be captain,” the former pupil of Paarl Gymnasium said.

“This is something new. I have played with good leaders like AJ (Coertzen) and Oupa (Mohoje) before, and will take forward what I have learned from them.”

He also believes that there are several senior players, such as the vice-captain, Pieter-Steyn de Wet, who will assist him in his leadership role.

Back from injury

Claassen has played Currie Cup, Vodacom Cup, U21 and U19 rugby for the Free State.

However, a knee injury kept him out of action for nine months and he missed the last three Varsity Cup matches of 2015.

He returned for a training match against the University of Johannesburg in Kroonstad on 23 January 2016. The Shimlas also played a warm-up match against the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Bethlehem on 16 January 2016.

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