Harvest of Hope (Abalimi Bezekhaya)
Cape Town, South Africa · Operator: Abalimi Bezekhaya / Harvest of Hope
Overview
A community-supported agriculture vegetable-box scheme launched in 2008 by Abalimi Bezekhaya, an NGO based in Cape Town's townships. It relaunched in September 2022 after a three-year break.
Citizen participation
Township residents (many of them women) in areas such as Nyanga and Khayelitsha grow organic vegetables in community gardens near their homes. Harvest of Hope buys their surplus and delivers it through a pre-paid vegetable-box scheme (CSA).
Operating model
Parent NGO Abalimi Bezekhaya provides training, seedlings and inputs. A community-supported agriculture (CSA) vegetable-box scheme guarantees farmers a market and income, run as a social enterprise.
Impact
Over 11 years it sold around R16 million worth of vegetables, of which about R10 million was paid directly to farmers, supporting some 245 farmers and 1,225 dependents across about 70 gardens.
Land tenure
Produce is grown across many community gardens on township communal and public land made available to local growers.
Crops
- vegetables
Scale
Vegetables grown across about 70 township community gardens supporting around 245 farmers and their dependents
Sources（2）
This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.
Related cases
Abalimi Bezekhaya
ZACape Town, South Africa
Founded in 1982, this Cape Town non-profit supports small-scale citizen farming in the townships. True to its name 'farmers of the home', it provides training and supplies so residents of poor areas can grow organic vegetables, underpinning food security and livelihoods.
abalimibezekhaya.org.za+4
Seseragi Community Garden (Machi no Namagomi Ikashi-tai)
JPHino, Japan
A community garden in Hino City, Tokyo, started by citizens who believe 'kitchen waste is a treasure.' It collects and composts the kitchen waste of around 200 households and grows vegetables and flowers pesticide-free as a food-cycle garden. Naomi Shimpo studied its management and governance in detail in her 2021 and 2024 papers.
acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com+3
AGRUPAR – Quito Participatory Urban Agriculture
ECQuito, Ecuador
A participatory urban agriculture program run since 2002 by the city of Quito through its economic development agency CONQUITO, promoting agroecology-based self-production of food and advancing social, climate and gender justice.
conquito.org.ec+1
Belo Horizonte Urban Agriculture & Community Gardens
BRBelo Horizonte, Brazil
Urban agriculture rooted in Belo Horizonte's food security policy, with over three decades of experience; centred on a community-garden program created in 2017, it supports residents' production with seedlings and training.
prefeitura.pbh.gov.br+1