By Buziwe Nocuze
- Tantaswa Ndlelana stopped buying spinach, onions and tomatoes and now grows them at home to reduce her monthly grocery costs.
- She sells spinach for R10 to neighbours and gives it free to elderly people while encouraging others to start their own small gardens.
Tantaswa Ndlelana, a mother of two from Cape Town, has taken a bold step to deal with rising food prices.
She lives with seven family members and says feeding a big household has become too expensive.
Ndlelana works as a programme director at AEDC, but her salary still has to stretch across many needs. Her monthly costs include R2,500 for her children and transport, R400 for insurance, R400 for electricity and R3,000 for groceries.
She said the pressure forced her to think of new ways to save money.
Ndlelana decided to stop buying some vegetables and started growing them at home. She now plants spinach, onions and tomatoes.
“The budget is tight so I had to think deep on what to do to save money. I decided to plant these vegetables and when I see how prices keep increasing I know I made the right decision,” she said.
The move has helped ease her monthly stress. She said she no longer worries as much about paying for basics like electricity.
“Planting these has eased my budget. I am saving the money I used to spend on buying them,” she said.
Before planting, she had to buy more vegetables because of her large family.
“As someone who has more than five family members, one bunch of spinach was not enough. I had to buy two, so I am saving R40,” she said.
Ndlelana also earns a small income by selling spinach to people in her community for R10. She gives it free to elderly people who cannot afford it.
She said starting a garden does not cost much because seeds are affordable and she gets help from others who farm. She also receives support from agriculture programmes.
Ndlelana now encourages others to follow her example, even if they have little space.
“I encourage people to plant even in small spaces. They can use car tyres and other things because vegetable prices will keep going up,” she said.
Pictured above: Tantaswa Ndlelana in her home garden
Image source: Tantaswa Ndlelana
