Johannesburg – Reeling from a heavy setback suffered during the recent looting spree, a women-only black-owned egg production cooperative based in KwaDukuza in Kwa-Zulu Natal’s north coast continues to inspire and cultivate the culture of entrepreneurship among rural women as a response to job scarcity and poverty alleviation.
“We are a new business, the looting affected us severely because most of our infrastructure was looted,” said founding member Zodwa Mthembu.
“But this cannot dampen our spirit and morale, the show must go on. We must rise and pick up the pieces. As you know, these are some of unique traits women embody.”
The Amatshitshi Oqobo Poultry Farming was conceived last year as a stimulant for dealing with the crippling effects of joblessness and poverty in the rural community.
The initiative was also aimed at slowly bridging the gap that exists in the egg-production business by introducing small roleplayers in the sector.
“In the long run, we want the business to create jobs for the community and we target women. It is our view that if done right, agriculture and farming can assist to unleash much-needed jobs for rural communities.
“We are also conducting training for ordinary people who want to be in the egg-production business. We want to inculcate a culture of entrepreneurship; we prefer people to work jointly instead of doing it alone. There is power in unity.”
Other founding members of the cooperative are Lungile Makhathini, Zanele Shabalala, Gugu Sibiya and Thembi Xaba.
The Amatshitshi Oqobo, despite lacking crucial resources, started on a small scale, buying young hens and feeding them before they were ready to lay eggs.
It was not long before the provincial department of agriculture and rural development stepped in to provide some cash for critical infrastructure.
The business covers an 800-hectare egg-production farm with high prospects for further expansion.
“It would have been difficult without government assistance because for instance, for hens to lay as many eggs as possible, they must have more than 20 hours of light every day. In this business, you need an uninterrupted electricity supply.
“Quality chicken feed is also expensive. But we have managed, and we are now training other emerging poultry farmers in the province. The main aim is to share knowledge and skills for rural women economic emancipation.”
The project has already created eight job opportunities for the local community. They are currently in negotiations with local retail shops to sell the eggs directly to them. They are also supplying spaza shops, taxi ranks and restaurants.
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