Plenty Green Africa — a youth-run permaculture food garden at a Tsakane school (South Africa)
Tsakane, Ekurhuleni, South Africa · Operator: Plenty Green Africa（ンクルレコ・モトゥルング／シズウェ・ンドゥロヴ）
Overview
A permaculture food garden on 800 m² of school grounds in Tsakane, east of Johannesburg, started in September 2020 by two young men who lost their income in the Covid-19 lockdown. Vegetables, herbs, medicinal plants and edible flowers are grown together; the garden supplies about 20 nearby households and local chefs while teaching growing skills to young people.
Citizen participation
About 20 nearby households — women, young people and local chefs among them — take part, harvesting what they themselves planted. The garden runs skills training for young people and takes volunteers, doubling as a response to youth unemployment in Tsakane.
Operating model
Started in September 2020 with R500 of the founders' own money — spent on seeds and cow manure from a nearby livestock farm — after Covid-19 lockdown wiped out their income. It now sells produce to households and local chefs while pursuing outside grants and prizes; in March 2026 it was named one of the top ten gardens in the first Shoprite Group "Act for Change" Food Garden Competition.
Impact
Co-founder Motloung says: "We didn't have an income because of the lockdown, so farming became a food security strategy for us," and of their method, "Everything in a permaculture garden is nature-inspired and sustainable." It reached the top ten of Shoprite's Act for Change competition in March 2026 (final placing and prize amount not confirmed in the sources consulted here). No quantified yield or income figures have been published.
Land tenure
Operates on part of a secondary school's grounds; whether rent is paid is not stated in the sources.
Crops
- スイスチャード
- レタス
- たまねぎ
- チャイブ
- キャベツ
- ケール
- 豆
- きゅうり
- かぼちゃ
- トマト
- ピーマン
- ビーツ
- にんじん
- コンフリー・レモンバーム（薬用）
- パンジー・ビオラ・マリーゴールド（食用花）
Scale
800 m² — ブフレベムフンド中等学校（Buhlebemfundo Secondary School）の敷地内 800㎡
In the media（3）
Web articles and features that cover this case.
- ArticleFarming friends turn lockdown losses into a permaculture haven (Food For Mzansi, 29 November 2024) ↗foodformzansi.co.za
- ArticleTsakani's Plenty Green Africa named top 10 finalist in national food garden competition (African Reporter / The Citizen, 5 March 2026) ↗citizen.co.za
- ArticleWhat community gardens mean for South Africa (African Farming, 22 March 2026) ↗africanfarming.com
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