Archive for the ‘TopStory’ Category
“Training and support – the backbone of my farming business”
Purity Jakie (28) worked as a software developer for many years. Then Covid hit and, while working from home, she began to pursue her childhood passion – growing vegetables. “I found myself missing Teams meetings because I was too engrossed in selling my produce outside my house!” she says, smiling. Giving up her job was […]
“If you’ve got land, you’ve got a job.”
Thandi Sithole (38) and her husband, also a farmer, make a decent enough profit to support their two sons – “and even to pay for my trip to run the Comrades Marathon this year for the Evander Athletics Club,” she says, laughing happily. And yes, this energetic and hard-working farmer did finish the Comrades, to […]
Bayanda Pays It Forward, Mentoring 80 Others
Bayanda Maseko (30) was trained as part of a partnership between Sasol, who funded training and mentorship for a group of students, and Buhle, who provided it. “The training changed my life,” says Bayanda. “It attuned me to building a business with much more understanding and professionalism, and challenged me to achieve.” Bayanda (30) is […]
Nhlanhla Is In Love With Agriculture – And Creating Jobs
Buhle graduate Nhlanhla Ngwenya (28) formerly studied human resources and ran a construction company. Now she is “in love” with agriculture and passionate about creating jobs. “I didn’t love farming before I studied at Buhle, but now I do. The peacefulness of it gives me peace of mind and, most of all, I am very […]
“I like the fact that I can give other people jobs and put food on their tables.”
Kopano Matseoane (36) wishes she had started farming much earlier, instead of working at her previous jobs in IT and as a business analyst, as she could have advanced even further by now. “Farming is a lot of work but it’s interesting, and it’s liberating to be your own boss,” says the owner of Kopanomatseoane […]
Xoli reflects on the power of excellent marketing
Buhle farmer Nomxoliswa Makhabane (35) is ensuring that her organic farming business is a strong success. Not only does she put in the hard legwork of farming, continually expanding her farming ventures; she also understands the importance of powerful marketing. Xoli, as she is known for short, sells her spinach with a label she designed […]
Tisetso leaps from “zero knowledge about farming” to a harvest of plenty
Before enrolling at Buhle, Tisetso Mkhwanazi (30) had ”zero knowledge about farming,” she admits, although her enthusiasm was resulting in intermittent sales – even during the Covid-19 lockdown – from the vegetables she grew on her small plot. Tisetso received start-up funding for her farm in Benoni, Gauteng, in a project with our partner Sodexo. […]
Patience Makgai – from chemical engineer to farmer
Patience Makgai (30) was a chemical engineer who, when out of work for some time, decided to turn a family hobby of farming into a business. She is now making a profit through her farming business, Pag Business Enterprise, in Middleburg, Mpumalanga, where she employs four permanent workers. She achieved this despite having received no […]
“From high heels to gumboots”
Kgomotso Ramatlo has swapped her high heels for gumboots and is not looking back. The saying that “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” is attributed to Roman philosopher Seneca. Kgomotso knows very well that had she been underprepared, she would definitely have missed out on the opportunity to supply a formal market. Formal […]
“We’re growing the farm and keeping it for our children.”
About six years ago, Husna Raza took a calculated risk. She withdrew money from an investment account to pay down a large portion of a seven-hectare farm in Vischkuil, Gauteng. Her aim was to expand the existing family business by starting a poultry farm and supplying eggs to her husband, who is a bulk egg […]