Mailakgang Primary School has been part of the EduPlant family since 1999. The driving force behind the project, Mrs Evelyn Badimo is an excellent networker and she continues to forge connections to strengthen the relationships between schools and local structures. Without a doubt, Mailakgang’s efforts as a mentoring school are a driving force behind sustainable food production and food security in the area. Congratulations to Mrs Badimo and the team at Mailakgang for being selected as one of the finalists in the Mentoring Schools Catergory for 2012!

This has been quite a month!  Four weeks of seeing schools across the province, to the borders of Limpopo, Botswana, the Northern Cape, Gauteng and the Orange Free State.  I’ve been on the edge of the desert as well as in the heartland of prime agricultural production.  I’ve been in places where small hamlets are surrounded by towering mine dumps with foul air and revolting water.  I’ve been in busy, bustling urban schools, and one surrounded by opulent houses in an exclusive holiday village.  Others have been the only green patch in a dusty settlement.

As soon as she started teaching at Alabama Primary School, Charlain Strydom wanted to start a vegetable garden at the school.  She tried many times to grow food, but wasn’t successful.  At the beginning of 2011 she joined the Klerksdorp EduPlant cluster school workshops. 

A fun, exciting and educational project at Kwa-Bhekilanga Secondary School in Alexandra is keeping the Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) team busy! The project is aptly named ‘Watch our Garden Grow’. The ‘Watch our Garden Grow’ project is being driven by the EduPlant programme manager at FTFA, South Africa`s national greening and food gardening social enterprise

For more pictures, click here

Schools with a permaculture garden could win up to R25 000

Schools across the country that grow their own permaculture gardens could stand a chance of winning up to R25 000 by entering their food gardens into the 2012 EduPlant Schools Competition. The EduPlant competition is an opportunity to reward schools that promote food security, improved nutrition and self-reliance in communities. EduPlant is developed and coordinated by Food & Trees for Africa. 

Click the button below to download the EduPlant One Day and Cluster Workshops for 2011. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call her on 011 656 9802/3 or 071 865 2942 for more information.

The EduPlant 2010 finalists gathering in Johannesburg was yet again a truly inspirational event. It is tangible proof of the extraordinary reach and depth of this programme and just how it has the power to change lives

One of the most remarkable participants was Mrs Joyce Mabaso. Today she is a school principal and this year, as the 2009 Mentoring School Category Winner, was one of the EduPlant adjudicators; eleven years ago she was a teacher at an ill-equipped rural school in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, 60 kilometres from the nearest town, surrounded by impoverished communities. That was the year she first heard about FTFA’s EduPlant programme.

The 2010 EduPlant workshops have been a great success. This year the programme welcomes Engen, Absa, and the Woolworths Trust as the funding partners. They are growing and developing this national school greening and food gardening programme, founded and coordinated by FTFA, that is now in its 16th year.

Ahead of the United Nations World Food Day (16 October), twenty-one of South Africa’s top food gardening schools have been selected from over 350 national entries as the winners of the 2009 EduPlant competition.

The competition recognises and rewards schools using sustainable permaculture techniques to produce good food for the benefit of learners and the wider school community.   Representatives of sixty-nine finalist schools attended the exciting EduPlant Finals Event that was held at the Bosco Youth Centre in Walkerville, Gauteng from 29 September until 1 October.   These motivated schools showcased their outstanding permaculture food gardening projects to a panel of judges and the ‘Best of the Best’ were awarded top honours at the final awards ceremony.

An inspirational alliance between ABSA, Engen and The Woolworths Trust has committed R12 million to help address food security across South African schools.

EduPlant has received a major boost this year as a result of this new corporate partnership. The move by ABSA, Engen and The Woolworths Trust signals a growing awareness by companies to apply long-term social partnerships in order to achieve sustainable outcomes.

Diversity needed in SA’s CSI Strategy

According to the most recent CSI survey compiled by Trialogue for the 2008/2009 year, South African companies contributed R5 billion towards the development of impoverished communities. Of this amount, education claimed the highest portion with 38%, followed by 20% dedicated to HIV/AIDS initiatives and a mere 8% spent on enterprise development.

While HIV/AIDS continues to be represented as South Africa’s leading development challenge, food insecurity affects three times as many people. Rising food costs and the high rate of unemployment has resulted in as many as 15 million people becoming vulnerable to food insecurity.

Improved nutrition is also regarded as a vital component for treating people living with HIV/AIDS as it raises their immunity and supports the effective administering  of ARV’s. Many home based care and HIV treatment centres are increasingly developing food gardens to support the care of their patients.

Similarly, while education has been flagged as vital for strengthening economic security for future generations - and the country as a whole, current financial support by corporate South Africa targets mainly infrastructure and capacity. This is why the partnership between Absa, Woolworths and Engen on the EduPlant  programme is so significant in making a contribution towards food security.

The EduPlant Legacy

EduPlant’s success over nearly two decades has shown its ability to have holistic impact across health, education, economic stimulus and food security while also addressing more complicated environmental issues such as climate change.

 Joanne Rolt, Programme Manager for EduPlant believes EduPlant’s success is attributed to its grassroots approach that targets educators and community leaders to drive the initiative. “This year, our funding partners have enabled us to host 72 permaculture workshops across all nine provinces, reaching 8 000 educators. Thanks to the support of our partners, this is a record attendance year for us.” In the last five years more than 2 500 food gardens have been created as a result of the EduPlant training programme which provides ongoing mentoring and support for all participants. The programme also relies on educators sharing their knowledge and expanding the effects of the programme beyond their schools into their rural communities.

EduPlant Awards

Each year, EduPlant hosts an annual Awards event where the schools that excelled in implementing the permaculture gardening principles are rewarded for their efforts. This year attracted a record number of entries seeing more than 580 schools from across the country submit their school gardens for consideration. Already 70 schools have been selected as finalists to attend the final awards to be held from the 28 - 30 September outside Johannesburg. Each of the 70 finalist schools will be given 15 minutes to present their project and show their understanding around permaculture techniques, water conservation, organic fertilisers and recycling. A number of interactive workshops have been planned throughout each of the days which include drumming, permaculture, medicinal plants, t-shirt design, financial literacy and paraffin and water safety.

The Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony will be attended by Minister Buyelwa Sonjica of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry on 30 September 2010.

First Round of EduPlant workshops - a resounding success!

Despite recent petrol price reductions, South Africans are still experiencing high food costs.  No one feels this pinch more seriously than the estimated thirty-five percent of the population, about 15 million people, who are chronically vulnerable to food insecurity.

The EduPlant final event is fast approaching and we once again call for the contribution of useful environmental, health, educational, climate change or other resources (booklets, flyers, posters, leaflets, DVDs etc) for the 220 finalists and the 70 winning schools’ prize packages (290 schools in total). Over the years contributions to much needed school resources have been greatly appreciated, adding value to the prizes and acknowledgement of the schools attending the finals event.

Please feel free to contact Joanne Rolt if you have any queries or would like additional information telephonically at 011 656 9802 or by email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

An inspirational alliance between ABSA, Engen and The Woolworths Trust has committed R12 million to help address food security across South African schools.

EduPlant has received a major boost this year as a result of this new corporate partnership. The move by ABSA, Engen and The Woolworths Trust signals a growing awareness by companies to apply long-term social partnerships in order to achieve sustainable outcomes.

Diversity needed in SA’s CSI Strategy

According to the most recent CSI survey compiled by Trialogue for the 2008/2009 year, South African companies contributed R5 billion towards the development of impoverished communities. Of this amount, education claimed the highest portion with 38%, followed by 20% dedicated to HIV/AIDS initiatives and a mere 8% spent on enterprise development.

While HIV/AIDS continues to be represented as South Africa’s leading development challenge, food insecurity affects three times as many people. Rising food costs and the high rate of unemployment has resulted in as many as 15 million people becoming vulnerable to food insecurity.

Improved nutrition is also regarded as a vital component for treating people living with HIV/AIDS as it raises their immunity and supports the effective administering  of ARV’s. Many home based care and HIV treatment centres are increasingly developing food gardens to support the care of their patients.

Similarly, while education has been flagged as vital for strengthening economic security for future generations - and the country as a whole, current financial support by corporate South Africa targets mainly infrastructure and capacity. This is why the partnership between Absa, Woolworths and Engen on the EduPlant  programme is so significant in making a contribution towards food security.

The EduPlant Legacy

EduPlant’s success over nearly two decades has shown its ability to have holistic impact across health, education, economic stimulus and food security while also addressing more complicated environmental issues such as climate change.

 Joanne Rolt, Programme Manager for EduPlant believes EduPlant’s success is attributed to its grassroots approach that targets educators and community leaders to drive the initiative. “This year, our funding partners have enabled us to host 72 permaculture workshops across all nine provinces, reaching 8 000 educators. Thanks to the support of our partners, this is a record attendance year for us.” In the last five years more than 2 500 food gardens have been created as a result of the EduPlant training programme which provides ongoing mentoring and support for all participants. The programme also relies on educators sharing their knowledge and expanding the effects of the programme beyond their schools into their rural communities.

EduPlant Awards

Each year, EduPlant hosts an annual Awards event where the schools that excelled in implementing the permaculture gardening principles are rewarded for their efforts. This year attracted a record number of entries seeing more than 580 schools from across the country submit their school gardens for consideration. Already 70 schools have been selected as finalists to attend the final awards to be held from the 28 - 30 September outside Johannesburg. Each of the 70 finalist schools will be given 15 minutes to present their project and show their understanding around permaculture techniques, water conservation, organic fertilisers and recycling. A number of interactive workshops have been planned throughout each of the days which include drumming, permaculture, medicinal plants, t-shirt design, financial literacy and paraffin and water safety.

The Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony will be attended by Minister Buyelwa Sonjica of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry on 30 September 2010.

We all know that children cannot learn on an empty stomach, yet 40 % of school going children in South Africa are still hungry. This is what the EduPlant programme, a partnership of Absa, Engen and The Woolworths Trust, run by Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA), aims to change.

EduPlant, a well established national school food gardening and greening programme that helps schools to grow food sustainably through Permaculture, is adding value to schools and communities across South Africa over the next two years by providing even more workshops and Permaculture training. 

Ahead of the United Nations World Food Day (16 October), twenty-one of South Africa’s top food gardening schools have been selected from over 350 national entries as the winners of the 2009 EduPlant competition.