When Professor Mvuselelo “Mvu” Ngcoya was growing up in Phatheni, a long-neglected, impoverished rural community not far from the KwaZulu-Natal town of Richmond, there was no Bonakude farm. No hope.
“You knew only that this was not a place for you to live, but to leave. Everybody had this idea, you’re just here for a temporary stay and the sooner you get away the better, because there are no prospects at all.”
He left as soon as he could. And travelled. Via a circuitous academic route that saw him get his PhD and teach for a time at the American University in Washington, DC. His doctoral dissertation was on ubuntu and its relevance to international politics.
“Doing research on this indigenous philosophy, I developed an interest in other things indigenous.”
In 2010, back in South Africa, he took up a teaching post in the School of Built Environment and Development Studies (Sbeds) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. Research on indigenous plants became a focus. This connected him to people working with indigenous food.
“And that is how I made the transition from international politics to food politics.”
In four short years, Prof Mvu Ngcoya and Linda Lazarczyková, stirred by passion and commitment, have turned an inhospitable farm plot in rural KZN into a model of transformation and delicious, nutritious food. Be in charge of your plate, be in charge of your freedom? Read the full article on Bonakude in The Daily Maverick here.
