Linda Nghatsane is passionate about farming and helping others.

Linda Nghatsane is a health professional.  She was born into a farming family in a rural village near Tzaneen, Limpopo, where she still lives. She combined the two passions by utilising her knowledge and expertise in farming to help her community start vegetable gardens, even on a small scale.

In her work, countless mothers have come to see her over the years about health problems with their children. “Most of those children are malnourished. The parents cannot afford to feed their children a balanced diet. Food schemes, grants and ‘handouts’ do not work because the recipients become dependent on them and never learn to be self-sufficient. I realised that to address the enormous challenge of malnutrition in our poor communities, I must find a lasting solution,” Linda said.

“I needed to find a long-term solution to the problem. It is not good enough to address the symptoms. A solution must be found for the multifaceted problem in these communities. The people are poor, work is scarce, and the government is not making a lasting difference. Grants and handouts are not the answer – they must learn to be self-sufficient. That’s how I started the vegetable garden project, but first, I must tell you where my inspiration comes from.”

Linda got married in 1980, and she was advised to spend her honeymoon at the KwaSizabantu Mission in Kranskop, KwaZulu-Natal. She shared, “It was there, under the guidance of the late Reverend Erlo Stegen, that I learned about sustainable agriculture and how we can become self-sufficient by starting vegetable gardens in our places. He was an inspiring man, and over the years, I have regularly spent time at KwaSizabantu to learn more from him because I immediately realised that he had the solution to the problems my people were struggling with.”

Linda began with a poultry farm and continues to incorporate poultry into the sustainable, fresh produce farming practices she now manages. She is also a multi-award winner in agriculture, recognised for her work in climate-smart agriculture.

Linda worked with World Relief in a program called Vurhonga Child Survival. Now, she is paying it forward by helping Cedar International Academy NPC in Kranskop, KwaZulu-Natal, which is situated on the KwaSizabantu Mission. She said,  “Baba Stegen was and remains my role model and inspiration. He had a holistic approach to uplifting and developing communities. He didn’t just focus on their spiritual health; he also worked hard to care for their emotional and physical well-being. He was a preacher by profession but a farmer at heart. He taught churchgoers and those seeking help at his ministry how to care for themselves by cultivating sustainable vegetable gardens. I followed his footsteps”.

(Read the full story in our sister publication, Devoted online:  https://www.devotedmag.co.za/ or follow the eBook link:  https://online.pubhtml5.com/asxvv/uaik/)