Stronger urban communities through food and farming
We support collaborative urban food gardens, social farms, agri-food hubs and markets to build socially, ecologically and economically resilient communities in cities.
Latest News
- Job opportunity: Organic FarmerThe ideal candidate for this exciting and challenging position has a talent for food gardening, great resourcefulness and adaptability, and a love of community. They will help make the Oranjezicht City Farm (OZCF) a flagship organic farm and work towards making OZCF completely self-sufficient by using appropriate techniques and technology.
- Youth Ambassador opportunity!The search is on for young African food enthusiasts with a deep desire to change the way the world sees and consumes food. We, along with our partners in theContinue reading “Youth Ambassador opportunity!”
- Oranjezicht City Farm named one of SA’s 50 Organisations Creating a Greener TomorrowJoining Greenpop, Earthlife Africa, PETCO and others, the SA Urban Food and Farming Trust’s Oranjezicht City Farm was recognised by Treeshake as “one of South Africa’s top environmental organisations.” AsContinue reading “Oranjezicht City Farm named one of SA’s 50 Organisations Creating a Greener Tomorrow”
The 2022 Food Dialogues raised challenging questions about digital technologies disrupting our food system, the impact of cultured meat, and the ways food has shaped the spaces and places that define our city. Events considered our present day societal relationship with food by looking at key aspects of our food system – where we buy our food from and how nourished we are from the food we eat – as well as how we can better partner to govern our food system, and how the medium of food itself can bring us insight, connection and joy.
More than 600 people engaged in 13 events over 14 days at venues in Philippi, Mowbray and at the V&A Waterfront, while media coverage reached 26 million readers, listeners and viewers, with social media platforms reaching an additional 82 000 users.
2023 Food Dialogues will take place from 4 – 18 July 2023.
Selected Projects
Oranjezicht City Farm and Market Day
Established in 2012, this well-known community food garden on a heritage site on the slopes of Table Mountain is a site for education and innovation. It also gave rise to the city’s leading farmer’s market, supporting over 40 local smallholder farms and 60 artisanal food traders. [more…]
Environmental Entrepreneur Support Initiative
We mentor young leaders of exceptional ability who are already realising outcomes that advance environmental sustainability through work in the food system. EESI is funded by the Global Risk Governance Programme at the University of Cape Town. [more…]
Design Principles for Impactful Urban Farms
Derived from research and experience, our set of 15 principles help inform social agriculture projects in any urban context to strengthen their beneficial impacts within their community, while providing a way to link and build solidarity with other farms across time, space, geography and culture. [more…]
Langa Community Agri/Food Hub
Linking existing urban farmers and supporting their work with infrastructure and services will build community-scale resilience to shocks and stresses that worsen food and nutrition insecurity. This pilot in Langa will bring capital investment, operational mentorship and network facilitation, working in partnership with a local non-profit foundation. [more…]
“Seeding good trouble…”
The SA Urban Food & Farming Trust was profiled in the 2020 Innovation Report, published by the International Civil Society Centre. The Report collects and shares the most “inspiring and interesting” examples of promising innovations that can be applied to tackle common contemporary challenges. Read the case study and listen to the podcast interview.
Perspectives
“During COVID farmers couldn’t get to their markets, to their fields. Being able to draw on [the Trust’s] urban farming networks to sensitize us to what was really happening out there made a really big difference. We found ways in the City of doing things differently.”
Tamsin Faragher, Principle Resilience Officer, City of Cape Town
“The collaboration between so many different stakeholders makes [the SA Urban Food & Farming Trust] very interesting to our network and we think there are really innovative approaches and lessons that will benefit other cities around the globe.”
Christina Teichmann, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Strong Cities 2030 network coordinator
“The Trust helped us to establish our market garden. When we started there was nothing…they were supporting us, coming to look, buying vegetables, sending compost, and bringing volunteers. Even now they are organising market access for us.”
Toni Khulule, Production Manager, Spring Foundation, Lentegeur Market Garden
SA Urban Food & Farming Trust 