The AAVF is a decentralized, peer-to-peer network that better coordinates the means of food production in African cities. The goal of the AAVF Project Development team is to work with our network of smallholders, market gardeners and innovative urban farmers to get their projects off the ground. By working with individual members on all aspects of their business, we can ensure that the value of what is produced remains local.

AAVF / Ebenezer WESC - Project Scope As of right now, only about 5% of Ebenezer's land is being cultivated using traditional agricultural methods; this includes rows of crops that need to be watered by hand every day. These crops have a low priority within the organization’s bigger picture, meaning that the watering is often neglected. The quantity of crops grown and the length of time it takes means that their contribution to the organization’s finances is nearly negligible. 2ha does not appear to be significant in terms of crop production. After all, there are many commercial farms and plantations surrounding Bushbuckridge that are using thousands of hectares per entity. However, by bringing low-grade agricultural technologies such as drip irrigation, ebb-and-flow hydroponics, vertical growing bags and A-frame Nutrient Film Technique growing systems, 2 hectares can produce enough food to make a significant financial impact, especially for a small enterprise like Ebenezer. This mixed-technology model has been proven in a 2000m2space by a company we are proposing to work with on this project called HyHarvest. These technologies vastly improve resource efficiency, growing times and quality of produce, with less reliability on human labour like hand watering. However, this doesn’t mean that there is no net job growth; instead, new, more dynamic jobs are created in the agtech sector. Learning how to build, operate and harvest from hydroponic and vertical production systems is a more marketable skillset and a better investment of time for an interested potential farmer. Who will benefit from this job creation? Who better than the live-in and drop-in youth, many of whom are female, who are already looking to develop employable skills. It will allow Ebenezer to produce value out of an underutilized asset (the land), while contributing to food security for itself and its surrounding communities. This controlled environment approach will use no pesticides and focus on freshness, taste and nutrition. While there will be an initial financial input, Ebenezer will, from that point forward, be able to grow consistent high-value produce and prove an element of financial sustainability that will allow them access to continued government grants (unless it becomes possible to become fully self-sustaining through food production).

Creating value that remains local We are proposing to help Ebenezer expand its food production with a 200m2, ventilated tunnel greenhouse and ten A-frame NFT hydroponic growing systems. The focus will be on high-value, region-specific crops to be sourced from indigenous seed banks cooperated by Izindaba Zokudla, a farmer’s forum in Soweto, Johannesburg. These crops will be grown and harvested year-round using biological systems of production. This pesticide-free approach may be stigmatized as “knowledge intensive” and therefore harder to implement, but we will bring in experts who can build climate-controlled ecosystems that do not necessitate any harmful spraying. This will expand Ebenezer’s social enterprise, adding an element that focuses on growing foods as a means of: Establishing financial sustainability, Alleviating poverty Improving community food security Improving access to nutrition Creating sustainable jobs and careers Practicing environmental consciousness Empowering youth and females Helping young people develop marketable skills Creating educators of the future 4. Concrete Objectives To help Ebenezer WSCO become financially sustainable through food production, we must: 1. Expand current farming production with a 200m2 greenhouse that leverages medium-grade agricultural technologies to speed up the production and harvesting cycles. 2. Provide consistent, nutritious food to Ebenezer’s live-in and visited clients. 3. Improve community food security by making excess food available to the wider community through donations, direct street selling and offtake agreements with supermarkets in Bushbuckridge, Hazyview, White River and Nelspruit. 4. Create a strong brand that will be marketable to the many game reserve lodges within an hour’s drive of the Ebenezer campus. 5. Foster stewardship of the environment and care for the soil in the farmers of the future. 6. Create 3 agri-tech jobs within the first year of operation 7. Create an agri-tech education module that can be implemented in the youth care and drop-in centre. 8. The final objective is to be a successful case that can be replicated elsewhere. Other startup enterprises will use the Ebenezer model to prove the efficacy of this system, thereby helping them secure funding of their own.

We first arranged a meeting with the Community elders. We explained to them the many benefits of sustainability. We assured them that we will walk with them during and even after the process. We will provide the needed guidance and training. We were thereafter fully permitted to work on their land. We then set up a project team, where we step by step guided them on various necessary Soft/Basic Business skills. The trainings were first classroom type, then purely field training. Other necessary interventions included product improvement and support around designs/creativity as well as mentorship or other handholding tasks. Through our assessment exercise, we approach each person individually and design solutions that fit individual and group so as to capture interest and motivation around. Delivery of these training is simplified and has many examples for leaners to relate and understand. In many cases we use local languages in delivering the training. Emphasis of the use of digital marketing, social media is also a necessary training topic that we do. This is a doorway to the global market at exceptionally affordable costs. We partner with Designers on Freelance to assist with creativity among crafters. We put together a small program: Agriculture Vocational training and skill development for the youth and women in Africa to start growing local food sustainably. Our aim is also to interest the youth to enjoy farming. Organizing campaigns to spread knowledge about: Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), Urban Agriculture, Organic Farming, Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and Vertical Farming. Organizing Agroecology workshops and courses in Africa for young farmers on topics like: Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), controlled grazing systems, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), conservation tillage, crop rotation, mulching, cover crops, water use efficiency and soil nutrient management. Introducing alternative ways of production to smallholder farmers. Environment Educate farmers about climate change. Exploring more efficient crops for African food production systems in a changing climate. Utilizing renewable sources of energy in agriculture through CEA. Raising environmental awareness through: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), environmental modelling, Biodiversity, preserving local seed varieties, ecological Footprint (EF), carbon sequestration and water quality management.

AAVF (African Association for Vertical Farming), Josephine Favre, www.aavf.ch WavuNow, Mrs. Veronica Shagali, www.wavunow.com, Johannesburg Ebenezer Welfare Supporting Organization, Reg, Nr. 014-673 NPO, Mrs. Za Bengu University of Johannesburg, Prof Naud Malan, Izindaba Zokudla: Innovation in the Soweto Food System. www.facebook.com/Izindaba.Zokudla HyHarvest (Pty) Ltd, Mrs. Zandile Kumalo Community Leaders and the Municipality of Shatale, Mrs.