A simple prayer session and Bible study in Bossiesgif near Plettenberg Bay has evolved into a community garden, where older women and men now gather to socialise and plant crops together.
In the aftermath of devastating fires, the informal settlement was left reeling.
Families who had lost their homes sought shelter with relatives and friends, while others spent nights at the community hall, called the bicycle shed.
Today signs of recovery are beginning to take root.
In a quiet act of resilience, the elderly have started planting crops in the very bicycle shed that once offered temporary shelter.
The gesture reflects a community determined to move beyond the trauma, to rebuild.
Plett Food Centre co-founder Kathy van Staden conceived the idea of starting a food garden at the bicycle shed after a prayer session and a Bible study she led with community members proved successful.
The organisation is a non-profit and was established in 2023.
It also grows vegetables and cooks for the residents in Bossiesgif, Khayelitsha, Pinetrees and Qolweni.
The founders felt that there was a need for a community food garden to help deal with some of the issues the locals were experiencing.
The food garden in Bossiesgif started in October and has yet to be named.
Van Staden thought it would be a good idea to introduce a project that would be of value to the members, where they can bond with their children, socialise with their peers and benefit financially as well.
“As we all know, food prices are high, and the food centre provides one healthy meal per day.”
The community garden feeds more than 200 people through its soup kitchen.
The gardening team is also provided with breakfast before they begin their work.
The Plett Food Centre was established in 2023.
“We run The Plett Food Centre, and I do alpha courses under a tree,” Van Staden said.
“This is a course in which we introduce God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as the one true God.
“We also run a small registered pre-school.
“We believe that if you offer a starved person an apple or a Bible, they will take the apple.
“After that, you can offer the Bible because that brings hope for a better future.
“Then, once hope is born from faith, the job or income comes next. And this is how it happened at Bossiesgif.
“When we did the prayer session, everybody cried from their hearts at the opportunity to do a community garden.”
Van Staden became aware of the community’s struggles in 2023 after leaving a church meeting and deciding to drive through the area.
Seeing the living conditions firsthand, she said she was motivated to start an organisation to assist residents.
She then contacted Harry and Phoebe van der Loo.
Together, the three founders registered The Plett Food Centre.
People from the church sponsored compost, seeds, watering buckets and whatever was needed for the food garden in Bossiesgif.
Men With a Mission took over and teams were formed with the residents who wanted to be involved.
Native Roots, a local shelter, organised the supply of topsoil, compost and bonemeal to support the project.
Nobile Mbele, 71, dedicates her time to the vegetable garden daily.
“This is where I found peace and get to socialise with my friends, as an elderly person feels lonely and excluded from most activities,” she said.
“This has helped me to find my community.
“I get to laugh and grow vegetables.”
Phindelwa Gogo, 65, said the food project united the community members and gave them a purpose.
“Crime is rife in this community and many people are unemployed.
After the fires, many struggled to rebuild their shacks.
“I pray that this project grows to feed our families and turns into a business,” she said.
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