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SASUF students dig in to fight hunger at the UFS

23 June 2025 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

There is something powerful about getting your hands in the soil, even more so when it is to help someone else. That is exactly what the group of South Africa–Sweden University Forum (SASUF) students did at the end of May, marking World Hunger Day by joining forces with Kovsie ACT to maintain and prepare food garden beds on the University of the Free State (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus.

The SASUF student team is helping with the upkeep of 40 vegetable beds in the food tunnels near Welwitschia Residence. These beds were established to supply fresh produce to students in need – a small effort with a big purpose.

Simba Matema, Research Assistant from the Office for International Affairs and SASUF Student Network National Coordinator, says this project is about more than planting vegetables. “We want to make sure that students who are struggling financially can benefit. But we also want to learn, to grow skills in agriculture and sustainability,” he explains.

A learning experience with real impact

Second-year student Lesego Moeleso says being involved in the garden is “a refreshing change of scenery” and a great way to “interact with students from different fields of study”. He adds: “We all want to help our fellow students who don’t have enough food.”

Third-year UFS student Njabulo Sibeko agrees. “It’s a unique mix of academic enrichment, personal growth, and community engagement,” he says. “Even if the impact is small, it goes a long way. This project gives us a chance for hands-on learning and skills development, environmental sustainability and awareness, as well as social connections.”

Sibeko believes the garden also works as a “live experiment for environmental education”, teaching about “composting, water conservation, and organic farming”. He says, “Different vegetables have different nutrition, and if we can hold small workshops as to why we need to eat specific vegetables during different seasons, it will help teach us about the value they have for our body.”

Final-year Law student Shemsa Nzeyimana says her favourite part of being involved is “seeing the impact of our efforts” and “watching the garden grow and flourish”. “I love being part of a team that shares a common vision for creating positive change through sustainable practices,” she says. “And the fact that I get to be out of my comfort zone while building my social skills.”

Towards a sustainable solution

Nzeyimana hopes the garden “will become a hub for community engagement”, connecting students, staff, and locals while promoting sustainable food systems. “The garden directly addresses food security while also serving as a hands-on learning space for nutritional education and sustainable agriculture,” she adds. “By promoting sustainable gardening practices, the garden raises environmental awareness and encourages the campus community to think critically about food systems and their impact.”

At the UFS, where 59% of students report going hungry and 60% skip meals for financial reasons, the need is undeniable. Matema says by “giving students a role in the solution”, the stigma around food aid is reduced. “It becomes a shared project, not a handout.”

As Nzeyimana sums it up: “This garden can become a space for learning, connection, and hope – a place where change grows from the ground up.”

Besides Kovsie ACT, the initiative includes partners such as the Institute for Groundwater Studies, University Estates, the UFS Food Environment Office, and residences. External partners such as Tiger Brands, Sakata Seeds, and Kwaggafontein Nursery also support the project.

News Archive

Research by experts published in Nature

2011-06-02

The members of the research group are, from the left, front: Christelle van Rooyen, Mariana Erasmus, Prof. Esta van Heerden; back: Armand Bester and Prof. Derek Litthauer.
Photo: Gerhard Louw

A research article on the work by a team of experts at our university, under the leadership of Prof. Esta van Heerden, and counterparts in Belgium and the USA has been published in the distinguished academic journal Nature today (Thursday, 2 June 2011).

The article – Nematoda from the terrestrial deep subsurface of South Africa – sheds more light on life in the form of a small worm living under extreme conditions in deep hot mines. It was discovered 1,3 km under the surface of the earth in the Beatrix Goldmine close to Welkom and is the first multi-cellular organism that was found so far beneath the surface of the earth. The worm (nematode) was found in between a rock face that is between 3 000 and 12 000 years old.

The research can shed some new light on the possibility of life on other planets, previously considered impossible under extreme conditions. It also expands the possibilities into new areas where new organisms may be found.

These small invertebrates live in terrestrial soil subjected to stress almost for 24 hours They live through sunshine, rain, scorching temperatures and freezing conditions. Through time they developed a means to cope with harsh conditions. Terrestrial nematodes (roundworms, not to be confused or related to earthworms) are among those very tough small invertebrates that deal with those conditions everywhere. After insects they are the most dominant multi-cellular (metazoan) species on the planet having a general size of 0,5 to 1 mm and are among the oldest metazoans on the planet, Nature says in a statement on the article.

They inhabit nearly every imaginable habitat form the deep seas to the acid in pitcher . Some nematodes simply eat bacteria and these are the ones we study here. Terrestrial nematodes have developed a survival stage that can take them through hard times (absence of food, extreme temperatures, too little oxygen, crowding, and more).

At the head of the research was Prof. Gaetan Borgonie of the Ghent University in Belgium and a world leader in the discipline of nematode research. He was brought into contact with the South African research leader, Prof. Esta van Heerden, who set up a cooperation agreement with the University of Ghent and Prof. Borgonie. Prof. Van Heerden manages the Extreme Biochemistry group at the UFS and the research was funded by several research grants.

The search for worms began in earnest in 2007, but it was soon clear that the sampling strategy was insufficient. A massive sampling campaign in 2008-2009 in several mines led to the discovery of several nematodes and the new nematode species Halicephalobus mephisto. It is named after the legend of Faust where the devil, also known as the lord of the underworld is called Mephistopheles.

Nature says special filters had to be designed and installed on various boreholes. Unfortunately, there is no easy way of finding a magic formula and designs had to be adapted by trial and error; improving existing designs all the time. The work of the UFS Mechanical Workshop, which manufactured, adapted and helped design it, was crucial in this respect. Filters were left on the holes for varying periods, sometimes for a few hours and sometimes for months. Prof. Derek Litthauer from the UFS played a big role in sampling, filter designs and coming up with ideas for names for the new nematode with Prof. Borgonie.

Research showed that the nematodes can live in the deep for up to 12 000 years. Three students – Armand Bester, Mariana Erasmus and Christelle van Rooyen from the UFS – did the work on this.

The importance of multi-cellular animals living in the ultra-deep subsurface is twofold: The nematodes graze on the existing bacterial population and influence their turnover. Secondly, if more complex multi-cellular organisms can survive in the deep subsurface on earth, this may be good news when looking for life on other planets where the surface is considered too inhospitable (e.g. Mars). Complex life forms can be found in ecosystems previously thought to be uninhabitable. Nature says this expands the possibilities into new areas where new organisms may be discovered.

Future research will focus on selective boreholes to look for more metazoans, so that a better idea of the complexity of the ecosystems there can be obtained. It will also look for metazoans in the deep subsurface on other continents to determine similarities and differences.

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