community*
From small
SEEDS
LEE CURRIE LOOKS AT ONE INGENIOUS INITIATIVE THAT STARTED DURING LOCKDOWN WHICH HAS RESULTED IN JOB CREATION, QUALITY VEGETABLES, AND SOLVING A LITTER PROBLEM
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ho can forget the days during lockdown when we weren’t allowed outdoors to exercise? Then when we were permitted a precious three-hour stint, people all but exploded out of their homes. For many, uMhlanga Promenade was their first choice – and Duncan Heafield, owner of Bellezar Beach Cafe – remembers it well. Open from 5.30am, his cafe opens directly on to the promenade. “The promenade looked like
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a rabbit warren with runners and walkers ecstatic to be out despite the fact that it was quite overcrowded,” he recalls. As there were no toilets available on the promenade at the time, Duncan opened the facilities in the cafe to the public. Then, in tune with the general camaraderie of those passing by, he began to distribute complimentary coffees. However, his generosity created a problem – the single-use beverage cups were rapidly accumulating. With the help of the UIP and Cabana Beach
ABOVE: Duncan and Zethu preparing the produce for farmers market day held on Tuesdays at Cabana Beach Resort. TOP RIGHT: The seedlings in their cups are planted straight into the soil, resulting in quality vegetables to be proud of. LEFT: Trays of seedlings in biodegradable coffee cups – the start of a new initiative. Resort where Bellezar is housed, dedicated bins were placed along the promenade. “At one stage there were about 600 cups in the bins in just one day. The cleaners were in lockdown and the refuse sites were closed, so we had to think of something. We then had the idea to plant vegetable seedlings in the cups with a view to growing our own produce. We purchased some seedlings from a co-op farm near uMhlanga and after sanitising the cups began to experiment with a variety of
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vegetables,” explains Duncan. “Before long we had so many seedlings we ran out of space – even my house resembled a seedling hatchery. Then we heard of a lady farmer near Verulam, Zethu Mdletshe, who had been growing vegetables for restaurants and farmers markets, but had become severely affected by the lockdown. It seemed logical to give her the seedlings to grow for us and buy the produce back. Cabana donated monkey proof tunnels and Zethu started to grow carrots, spinach, kale, tomatoes, peppers, etc, organically grown and of excellent quality. The vegetables now feature on our menu and Zethu also supplies two other restaurants nearby.” Later when Cabana was open to visitors, the guests’ children became involved in planting the seedlings as part of their activity programmes.
