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Aug 3, 2018

Sales for Nongoma and Hlabisa

The Jozini Agricultural Project has now been working with farmers for two years increasing their productivity of their communal herds with an aim of increasing homestead wealth and allowing farmers that then have excess animals to sell these as a further link in the value chain around goats.

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Aug 3, 2018

Auctions - Hlabisa, Nongoma and Jozini

The Jozini Agricultural Project has now been working with farmers to increase their herds with an aim of increasing homestead wealth and allowing farmers that then have excess animals to sell through various channels such as auctions.

Aug 3, 2018

Agrivet Shop - Hlabisa & Nongoma

Agrivet shops are being piloted by the Jozini project to create an environment for farmers and Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs), once they have been trained properly, to have access to locally to medicine that is kept in appropriate conditions and within sell by dates.

 

Aug 3, 2018

Goat Dip Tank

The project holds regular Innovation Platforms where stakeholders come together and discuss problems farmers are facing.

Aug 3, 2018

Goat Enclosures

The three-year drought that affected the area that the Jozini project works in brought into question the viability of goat herds during times of nutritional stress and how this affects productivity.

 

Aug 3, 2018

CAHW Leather

As part of the goat value chain, an important but unused component are the many skins that are often discarded after the traditional ceremonies.

Aug 3, 2018

Training Approach - Agriseta Modules

One of the strengths of the Jozini Project is the training component.

 

Aug 3, 2018

Chicken POG

In the dusty little outpost of Mboza, women farmers stream in carrying chickens in various creative ways, some in boxes, some in plastic packets, some just held casually in their hands. It is a chicken POG day, they say.

Aug 3, 2018

Royal Show

HPSA and its partners had a stand at the Royal Show for the second year in a row.

 

Aug 3, 2018

Malelane Training

For the first time ever, Agrivet shop owners servicing rural areas in KwaZulu Natal received formal training in basic animal health.

Feb 24, 2016

Five-year master plan to put goat farming on the map in KZN

The KZN DARD was hoping that its five-year master plan for domestic and commercial goat production would help achieve some resilience to the effects of climate change and improve food security, particularly among KZN’s poor.

 

Feb 8, 2016

Goat Expo- Launch of KZN Goat Agribusiness Project

Heifer International South Africa (Heifer) has developed a five year project called the KZN Goat Agribusiness project with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, KZN Department of Agriculture and Land Reform and Mdukatshani Rural Development Programme. The total five year budget is over R70 million rand. The areas of focus are in five local municipalities of Mzinyathi, Thukela, Uthungulu, Zululand and uMkhanyakude (Msinga, Nkandla and Jozini). Heifer will be working with 140 livestock dip tanks over the five years and supporting approximately 28,000 farmers to increase their herd productivity with the goat commercialisation.

Jan 28, 2016

Umsinga Goat Expo 30th January 2016

The purpose of the event is to encourage and introduce the community to new business ventures, showcase their goat breeds and an introduction to the goat market. The event aims at re-introducing goat meat to the community by providing initiatives to encourage the community to partake in activities which will provide locals with an understanding into the goat market. As well as encourage locals to learn more about how to make their goats more productive in order to commercialize their herds. A cooking competition shall be held on the day whereby co-ops will have to cook a balanced meal using goat meat.

 

Nov 18, 2015

Farming for nutrition: a focus on spinach and eggs

As inflation continues to hike, the standard of living diminishes, it is unfortunate that malnutrition continues to present health problem within our poorer communities. Heifer assists the battle of malnutrition by investing in and educating communities and project members to farm sustainably towards maintaining health and prevent short and long term effects of malnourishment.

Oct 20, 2015

To Russia with Love

Activist, Sponsor and a member of Expedition 720 pledges to raise and contribute $10 000 within 75 Days, towards Angelo's goal in raising funds for Heifer International South Africa. Lets support Charles Chiara and Expedition 720

 

Oct 16, 2015

World Food Day 2015: Social Protection and Agriculture

The encouragement by Heifer staff for communities to create group savings accounts also increases the community’s social protection through their ability to withstand social, economic and environmental shocks. Group savings create a reserve of funds available to the community to use in any emergency whether to replace livestock after a disease outbreak or to expand their agricultural enterprises encouraging growth and increased household income. Therefore, celebrate this World Food Day on October 16th by assisting Heifer in providing South African communities with the long term social protection to withstand any future shocks - effectively creating a resilient rural society.

Oct 13, 2015

Angelo Wiki Page is Give and Gain Top 10 Activists of the week !

A big shout out to @angelowpage, 1 of our #Top10 activists of the week, for @HeiferSA! givengain.com/activist/11947 Angelo Wilkie-Page is attempting to be the first person to circumnavigate the world, twice, on human power. (no engines, no sails.) Firstly East to West and then again North to South all in aid to support Heifer International South Africa's mission to end hunger and poverty in South Africa. His determination and heroic attempt to raise funds in aid of ending poverty in South Africa is phenomenal.

 

Sep 15, 2015

Empowering Women Creating Change

When she was a teenager her father died, her mother became ill, and daily life was a struggle. “It was difficult because my mother wasn’t working. We had to get up early to help neighbors with weeding their fields so we could get money. Sometimes we would help neighbors with renovating their houses,” she said. Seven years later her mother died, and at the age of 21 she was left to support her family.

Aug 30, 2015

Sharing and Caring

Many of the farmers that Heifer International helps are families that have recently returned from urban areas and are truly farming for the first time. The trainings and support Heifer provides, helps to smooth the transition.

 

Jul 22, 2015

Give Them Not Just the Seeds, but Teach them to Sow

Heifer has introduced agriculture based on family farming as a solution to address hunger, environmental and economic challenges faced by people that are impoverished. Family farms are increasingly being recognized as part of the future and a key player towards sustainable development. Family farming is central to eradicating hunger. Family farming is the predominant form of agriculture in developing countries. The hungry live in rural areas and depend on farming for their subsistence and income. Heifer helps improve their livelihoods through sustainable agriculture, in combination with concrete support in terms of capacity development, tools, technology, infrastructure and access to basic services with priority given in efforts to eradicate hunger and malnutrition. Targeting family farmers will make a difference in the hunger equation.

Jul 13, 2015

Transition of Women

Heifer’s projects aims at generating income, in which disadvantaged women are given gifts of seeds and livestock with the aim of improving their situation as well as that of her family members. The idea is that if a productive asset such as livestock is given to a women and her family, they will be empowered economically and socially in ways that will gradually reduce social and income inequalities. Livestock and crops provide food for both family consumption and sale. This leads to improved health and nutritional status, increased income levels, and greater self-esteem. Projects brought about changes in awareness of rural living to make rural living more pleasant and comfortable. These changes included creating awareness to change the status of women by their active participation in agriculture and acquiring skills to diversify areas of involvement by women supporting women in entrepreneurial roles.

 

Jul 8, 2015

Care for the Earth and Keep the Honey Bees ‘Buzzing’

Being sustainable means finding ways to use local resources more efficiently, it also means protecting the natural habitats and diversity of species that share our planet and life all around us. Heifer International South Africa (Heifer) is committed to being part of that effort. Heifer works alongside rural impoverished communities to bring diverse perspectives to agriculture to develop creative and effective solutions to combating poverty and hunger. Heifer works with small scale farmers to produce sustainable farming practices, enabling them to produce food and preserve the natural ecosystem. Practices implemented on farms conserve resources to protect the land and promote biodiversity where they live and farm.

Jun 9, 2015

FAO Eradication is next goal

72 countries have achieved the Millennium Development target of halving proportion of the chronically undernourished

 

Jun 3, 2015

Gates Foundation to double spending on hunger to $776 million over 6 years

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the world's largest private philanthropy organization, with a $40 billion endowment. It aims to tackle disease and poverty in the developing world. Bill Gates earned his billions as co-founder of Microsoft.

Jun 1, 2015

State of the South African Rural Farmers

Statistics South Africa had recently released a report which portrayed a higher percentage of South African families living below the poverty line than previously believed. This came about after the National Statistics body adjusted the basic poverty line indicators. The number of South Africans now living below the poverty line has increased from 45.5% to 53.8%[1]. With a population of 52 million people, this increase to 53.8% of the population living below the poverty line indicates roughly 15 million people are now suffering from poverty and hunger.

 

May 14, 2015

Heifer Helping Families Cope with HIV/AIDS

Heifer’s model allows families to earn a living, grow healthy food and stay home to care for HIV positive family members. Fighting HIV/AIDS is more than medication, it is about helping families as to find ways to cope with the challenges faced and keep loved ones happy and active for as long as possible.

May 4, 2015

Creating change – Increasing our impact

When project members at the Phulisnani Project in the Eastern Cape shared their challenges faced over the recent months Heifer International South Africa (Heifer) saw a need for intervention. Project members were experiencing a slow progress in the growth of vegetable gardens which has restricted the sale of vegetables. Heifer has recognized a need to construct manual boreholes within the area. The high cost involved in sourcing and purchasing seedlings from towns nearby, harsh water shortages combined with draughts has impacted negatively on the livelihood structures of the community.

 

Apr 30, 2015

The gift of giving this Easter beyond the rolling hills of Nkandla

With the knowledge that every individual has the potential to lead change by Passing on the Gift, we can only imagine how much potential we can unlock. How many futures we can build. We’ve accomplished a lot, but we won’t stop until we’ve seen the end of hunger and poverty in South Africa. Heifer International South Africa (Heifer) recently celebrated a Passing on the Gift ceremony over the Easter Weekend at the Zusiphe Project in Nkandla, Kwa-Zulu Natal. As most people were in high spirits in the anticipation of the Easter celebrations, 39 more families at Heifer’s Zusiphe Project have received gifts of does, passed on by their community members. The joys of the Easter celebrations as well as the present of 47 does brought excitement, joy and hope to the Kwa-Nqundu village (Nkandla).

Apr 23, 2015

“The Poor Man’s Cow” –The Goats of Zusiphe, a Valuable Source of Nutrition and Income

With poverty, malnutrition and a growing population in the rural areas of South Africa, Heifer has found solutions to help feed and provide a possible source of income and nutrition to these people. The desire for a better life is possible with the help of Heifer.

 

Mar 25, 2015

Providing those in need with an opportunity to end their struggle with poverty.

In the recent days project members have celebrated their first goat delivery, which consisted of 572 indigenous goats. Goats were awarded to project members with goat shelters. With 528 indigenous goats to follow during the course of this year the remaining project members are pre-occupied with trainings and building their goat shelters.

Mar 17, 2015

Volunteer Kelly Smith shares her experience

I volunteered with Heifer South Africa for 3 months with the Resource Development team. I have always had an interest in working with non-profit organisations and found working with Heifer South Africa to be an enriching experience. It broadens one's knowledge of how non-profit organisations work and finding out what the intrinsic and most essential needs are in operating the behind the scenes of such an organisation. I find that understanding parts of a whole is of the utmost importance to making anything grow successfully and sustainably and therefore, this experience has provided that sneak preview into understanding how such an established organisation operates. As a child in primary school, I had participated in the Read to Feed programme and still remember the enjoyment it gave me and how it opened my eyes towards helping others in need. So, to be able to volunteer for the same organisation, but to be on the other end has been a rather rewarding experience. I had limited time to devote but I soon realised that any help in such an organisation is positive help. Thank you for the opportunity Heifer South Africa and thank you to the resource development team for being so welcoming and helpful

 

Mar 10, 2015

Commemorating Women in our Projects

To commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8, Heifer International South Africa turns focus towards the social achievements of rural women residing in the disadvantaged Mahbeleni village, situated in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal. The Sukuma Poultry project was first started in 2006 by a group of women that had come together to improve on living conditions. In 2011, Heifer has helped lift the Sukuma Poultry Project towards positive transformation and empower scores of women in the village. The project equipped women with ‘tools of transformation’ by providing them with adequate education and training on maintaining sustainable crop and chicken farming practices. These methods adhered to the Cornerstones of Heifer’s mission to achieve holistic community development. Their indigenous knowledge teamed with Heifers skills and resources helped transform daily family farms into family businesses.

Feb 10, 2015

Let’s make a change together – Join the Read to Feed Programme

How can reading books change lives in rural communities? Ask the students at Crawford Preparatory La Lucia or Clarendon Primary in the Eastern Cape. They, along with seven other schools, participated in Heifer International South Africa’s Read to Feed programme last year. For every book a child reads in the Read to Feed programme they raise money, through family and friends sponsoring them, for supporting Heifer’s mission in South Africa to defeat hunger and poverty. Not only does this programme help provide training and animals to needy communities, the programme also improves the student’s reading and comprehension skills and increases their awareness of critical issues affecting South Africa and globally.

 

Jan 27, 2015

‘2015’ - An Exciting Year Ahead for Heifer International South Africa

2015 is set to be another busy but exciting year for Heifer International South Africa (Heifer). The Blouberg project, which is our largest project to date at 2100 families in the Limpopo Province, will be entering its second year. This year will see the delivery of more goats and chickens to the project members whom have already completed their livestock shelters and they happily look forward to the new business opportunities the animals will bring.

Dec 1, 2014

Overcoming poverty with Heifer

“We are thankful to the donors and Heifer for coming and starting the project with us, it has changed our lives and we see the future being brighter after their arrival” Says Mr Dumisani Magidlwana (41) a member of Phuhlisanani project in Mdlankomo village.

 

Dec 1, 2014

Warm hearts in the blizzard

With the mercury having plummeted, the snow-capped mountain tops of Nkandla set the backdrop for a Passing on the Gift (POG) ceremony like no other. The residents of KwaNqundu village, in Nkandla, braved the chilling rains and came out in their numbers to bear witness to this auspicious occasion marked by ululation song and dance

Nov 11, 2014

Super Smarties : Dhiya Pillay raised over R1000 by reading her favourite stories to her dad’s collea

Dhiya Pillay is in Grade 2 at Crawford Preparatory School in La Lucia KZN. Dhiya is truely a passionate trouper. She raised funds for the Read to Feed Programme by Reading to employees at her dads factory.

 

Oct 31, 2014

Heifer Communities Improving the Environment and Caring for the Earth

For years poverty stricken communities have had to rely on deforestation to provide them with the necessary fuel to heat their water in order to cook and clean. This has resulted in soil erosion, declining wildlife habitats, biodiversity and bee populations. As a result, Heifer staff provide project members with a variety of fruit tree saplings suited to the region which inhibit soil erosion and provide bees with a source of food. Alternative fuel sources are also incorporated to reduce the amount of wood required by each household.

Oct 31, 2014

Why Agricultural Interventions are a Multi-faceted Form of Effective Aid

Seventy five per cent of the world’s poor live in rural areas. This provides local and international aid agencies and governments with an opportunity to effectively reduce global poverty levels whilst addressing a number of other crucial issues such as climate change, malnutrition and environmental protection. This opportunity presents itself in the form of agricultural interventions. Smallholder farmers already produce 80% of the food in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa[1]. 86% of the world’s rural poor also currently depend on agriculture as their source of livelihood, whilst also living on arable land which is in most instances suitable for both crop and livestock production, with the bulk of this arable land being found in Africa[2]. Therefore, these rural families are perfectly situated, with the right knowledge, skills and inputs, to feed their families and earn a decent annual income through farming. As previously mentioned, with the vast majority of the rural poor living on arable land, a large portion of these families also own varying forms of livestock. This allows Aid agencies and governments to provide minimal capital inputs whilst bringing the largest amount of families above the poverty line.

 

Oct 31, 2014

Working together to end hunger and poverty in South Africa

The good work of Heifer International South Africa has not gone unnoticed. Sunshine Seedling Services in Park Rynie took notice and joined in our fight against hunger, poverty and caring for the earth. Sunshine Seedlings has been infected by the philanthropic bug of Heifer’s work which has sparked a good working relationship, earmarked to blossom into a long life partnership. Sunshine Seedlings has donated seedlings towards Sukuma Poultry Project.

Oct 13, 2014

Restoration of hope to rural communities

Mr Mnconyelwa received one jersey cow from Heifer and through Heifer trainings he now has a garden where he plants oats, cabbage, spinach, beetroot and onions. Ever since he joined the project his family members now enjoy being together at home because they now have a cow to milk and zero grazing structure to clean everyday. With the monthly income of R870 generated from selling milk he is now able to put food on the table for his family and buy other household necessities.

 

Oct 2, 2014

Leading from the helm

Mrs Patience Qwabe (53) is a woman of stature, as deputy chair of Zusiphe Goat Project’s Steering Committee she is expected to lead by example, and that she has. As a mother of 4 and grandmother to 11 she has set the bar high for her children, grandchildren and her fellow project members. A mother to a child attending university, Delani Zimele Qwabe (21), who requires a lot of money for tuition fees, there is very little left over for food and other commodities. A home garden comes in handy as most of her essential vegetables come from her own backyard. “I will very shortly be harvesting my very own bananas,” she exclaims, which is an added bonus to consuming home grown healthy vegetables and owning her very own goats. Soon she will complete her commitment to Passing on the Gift® (POG) of one more female goat kid

Oct 2, 2014

Read to Feed Super Heroes changing the world their way! Super Smarties

Read to Feed Super Heroes changing the world their way! Super Smarties. For the next few weeks the Read to Feed Programme shall be honoring our 2014 super heroes by sharing their initiatives, incentives and zeal to help end hunger and poverty in South Africa. Our weeks start off with Crawford La Lucia Preparatory School’s Super Smarties. Students who dared to dream up innovative, exciting and heartwarming ways to raise funds for the Read to Feed Programme.

 

Aug 14, 2014

Unconventional thinking to weather the storm

Mrs Mkhize (60) has caught the eye of not only Zusiphe Goat Project members but Heifer International South Africa (Heifer) staff and her community at large with her unconventional yet innovative goat shelter.

Aug 14, 2014

Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones Uniting a Family

Nonhlanhla joined Heifer's Zusiphe project in 2012 and since then has received two goats, vegetable seedlings and fruit trees which has seen her and her family begin to flourish. However, it wasn't only the physical gifts she received from Heifer which enabled them to prosper, but it is also the values enshrined in Heifer's 12 Cornerstones which have truly assisted her family.

 

Apr 29, 2014

Read to Feed Skype Superheroes

At Heifer, we've learned that young people can be our most powerful spokespeople. It's true! We're proud of the initiative undertaken by Anna and Marie Brammer from Crawford Preparatory College in KZN, to end hunger and poverty, because when we all work together, great things happen.

Apr 29, 2014

Ending Hunger and Poverty

"I am very proud of Heifer, it brought light into my life and it took away hunger and stress" remarks Nzuzo Hlongwane (28) from Heifer International South Africa's (Heifer) Thusanang Dairy project in Matatiele, Eastern Cape.