ITSOSENG WOMEN'S PROJECT
While we have achieved much in our short history, we have done this with very few resources and with great commitment and support from community members. There are still huge needs that have to be met if we are to sustain ourselves in the long run. Not least among these is the provision of adequate facilities at the crèche so that it can be formally registered and the security of land tenure for the purposes of the food garden since the primary school reclaimed the field lent to the project. Currently, the food garden is sustained on land belonging to a local church. The recycling project has continued to grow but remains a hazardous activity as we work without proper safety equipment and clothing. And without the proper machines to crush and sort glass, we do this manually. However, we have found ways to manage adversity in a collective way that ensures the survival of the project. In particular, we have been able to offer a space to a group of unemployed women and men in Orange Farm to come together and find ways of developing sustainable livelihoods for ourselves.
ABOUT US
Itsoseng Women’s Project was established in September 1997 by a group of unemployed women in Orange Farm to provide food and income for ourselves and our families, and to provide services that are lacking in Orange Farm to the broader community. We began with a food garden that we started on land that we were able to secure from the Reamohetswi Primary School through negotiations with the Department of Education. With support from the Department of Social Development, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Department of Agriculture and generous individuals, we were able to make the project a success with the first few years. The food garden provided a stable income to up to 50 people, mainly women, through the production of vegetables for sale to local shops, schools and other community projects. In addition to providing a healthy source of nutrition for its members, Itsoseng also opened the space for unemployed women to begin discussing social problems and finding solutions collectively.
We started Itsoseng with very little and it took some time for it to generate profit. Many of us were forced to work in the garden with babies on our backs and with children in our care. We therefore decided to start a crèche where some of us could look after the children while the others worked. After the local municipality gave us additional land, we erected two makeshift corrugated iron structures to house an office and the crèche. In time, other women in the community began to ask if they could also send their children to the crèche. We then decided to make the crèche an income generation programme on its own. Minimal monthly fees are now charged to parents to help subsidise the staff salaries and the provision of at least one hot meal to the children every day.
While the food garden was initially a great success, we soon encountered problems however. In particular, insufficient rain and unpredictable weather patterns negatively affected the garden with the result that members of the project were unable to grow enough vegetables to make a profit. We therefore decided to start a third project, that of waste recycling. Glass, paper and plastic are collected, separated and baled by members of the project from local shebeens, bottle stores and street traders. Shops are encouraged to bring their waste to Itsoseng in exchange for cash. The income generated from the recycling project sustains 35 community members, the majority of whom are women, and has enabled us to revive the garden.
