“Understanding the complex and dynamic interrelationships between water, energy and food will enable cities to manage resources sustainably.” – Sandra Boatemaa, Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (Stellenbosch University). Systems-thinking means shifting narratives to include experiences that are otherwise overlooked. A circular approach accounts for the...
According to Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity (PMBEJD), the problem facing South Africans has been compounded through multiple means. Whilst the price of foods in the supermarket trollies of families living on low incomes continues to increase, with the Household Food Basket having increased by...
Public statement by the Southern Africa Food Lab 27 May 2020 The Southern Africa Food Lab notes with concern indications in the media and from first hand reports that government is acting to limit civil society initiatives for food security and food relief. The lockdown, which was imposed on...
Event details Date: 27 May 2020Time: 15:00 to 16:30Venue: Online via Zoom, registration requiredAttend event via webcast The distribution of food parcels quickly led to conflict in several communities across South Africa. How sustainable is the provision of food directly to those who need it, and can it be done fairly? Do food parcels...
Jane Battersby This was written in the 4th week of South Africa’s lockdown period, when the country had 3465 reported Covid-19 cases and 58 deaths. It was also the week in which looting of formal and informal retailers, food trucks and distributors of food parcels began. South...
PMBEJD Research Report 28 April 2020 On Thursday 23rd April 2020 we collected food prices in Pietermaritzburg supermarkets which target the low-income market. We present these price increases from before the lockdown to this date (2 March 2020 to 23 April 2020). Last week we started...
Children go without school lunch and families eke out the last of their supplies As the government grapples with finalising a plan to feed a growing number of desperately hungry people amid the Covid-19 national lockdown, shelters say they are seeing starving people who have not...
By Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies The social legitimacy of the ‘COVID-19 lockdown’, government’s regulations imposed to contain the spread of the virus, is most likely to run aground unless an urgent plan can be made to ensure that everyone in the country has...
By Magnificent Mndebele Food For Mzansi has enabled me to tell the stories of a series of tumultuous agricultural journeys and successes of black urban farmers around Gauteng. However, a considerable number of these unsung agricultural heroes and heroines sing appreciation hymns to someone who has never...
On Friday night (3 May 2019) a Coastal Food Jam took place at Soute in Salt River. The event was the culmination of a two day Transformation Lab (T-Lab) for Coastal Wild Food stakeholders in the Western Cape. “A diverse group of folk, including traditional small-scale...