Lehlohonolo Mabaso

Youth in Agriculture

Nominee's Province:
Free State

Age:
34

Project Name/Description:
Qwakanda NPO

More info:
https://www.facebook.com/Qwakanda/?ref=external%3Awww.google.com&__nodl

LEHLOHONOLO Mabaso (34) from QwaQwa is a highly driven individual who continue to serve his community. Through his NPO, Qwakanda, Mabaso initiated a community garden project which currently has eight full time workers. Linked to these is a drive to keep their environment safe and clean by eradicating illegal dumping sites. One morning he had just thrown a waste plastic at a popular illegal dumping site next to the local sport stadium. A former primary school mate who seemed homeless rushed to pick up the plastic, ripped it apart and started munching the leftover food. “That was the day that I took an oath and vowed to launch a clean-up campaign that would turn all illegal dumping sites into community gardens so that poor people could access food at every corner instead of garbage,” said Mabaso. They also collect food waste from homes and other outlets to produce compost. This creates part time jobs for bicycles owners who collect garbage. The garden project got into full swing from August 2021 where their first was spinach, pumpkin, carrots, butternut, peppers, corn, onion and beetroot. “