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Home food gardens and poverty alleviation in the rural area of Macekane, KwaZulu-Natal
Access to food, water and nutrition is a constitutional right in South Africa, yet the state of food accessibility is questionable, particularly in rural communities. After South Africa achieved political freedom in 1994, development and prosperity were prioritised, and a number of policies were des...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Social Development
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613259477024768 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Lugagu, Snenhlanhla |
| author2 | Abdullah, Somaya |
| author_browse | Abdullah, Somaya Lugagu, Snenhlanhla |
| author_facet | Abdullah, Somaya Lugagu, Snenhlanhla |
| author_sort | Lugagu, Snenhlanhla |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Access to food, water and nutrition is a constitutional right in South Africa, yet the state of food accessibility is questionable, particularly in rural communities. After South Africa achieved political freedom in 1994, development and prosperity were prioritised, and a number of policies were designed to eradicate poverty and inequalities. However, these policies have had little effect on food security, which is still precarious in many places, especially deep rural areas. This research explored the effects of home food gardens on food accessibility and poverty reduction in the rural area of Macekane in KwaZulu-Natal. It sought to investigate the circumstances of food insecurity in this area that prevail in the face of government-related food security interventions in rural areas. The focus of the research was a recent project initiated by the youth in the uMhlathuze Municipality's Ward 31, which falls under the Somopho Traditional Council. The youth initiated a ‘One home, one garden' project to address food insecurity and support self-sustainability in the community. The research employed a qualitative approach in which participants with food gardens were purposively selected and interviewed about their experiences of producing food to sustain their households. The findings revealed that water accessibility was a hindrance to the maintenance of home food gardens in Macekane. Home food gardens could contribute to the livelihood of the Macekane community, but water scarcity poses a major obstacle to achieving this goal. There is also a need for more systematic planning and implementation of community programmes such as this to ensure their success. This research brings a new perspective to the topic of food insecurity as its focus is on a specific rural community and their experiences. It therefore fills a gap in the discourse on poverty alleviation and food shortages in rural areas. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41671 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:17.409Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Department of Social Development |
| publisherStr | Department of Social Development |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41671 Home food gardens and poverty alleviation in the rural area of Macekane, KwaZulu-Natal Lugagu, Snenhlanhla Abdullah, Somaya food garden food security poverty alleviation Access to food, water and nutrition is a constitutional right in South Africa, yet the state of food accessibility is questionable, particularly in rural communities. After South Africa achieved political freedom in 1994, development and prosperity were prioritised, and a number of policies were designed to eradicate poverty and inequalities. However, these policies have had little effect on food security, which is still precarious in many places, especially deep rural areas. This research explored the effects of home food gardens on food accessibility and poverty reduction in the rural area of Macekane in KwaZulu-Natal. It sought to investigate the circumstances of food insecurity in this area that prevail in the face of government-related food security interventions in rural areas. The focus of the research was a recent project initiated by the youth in the uMhlathuze Municipality's Ward 31, which falls under the Somopho Traditional Council. The youth initiated a ‘One home, one garden' project to address food insecurity and support self-sustainability in the community. The research employed a qualitative approach in which participants with food gardens were purposively selected and interviewed about their experiences of producing food to sustain their households. The findings revealed that water accessibility was a hindrance to the maintenance of home food gardens in Macekane. Home food gardens could contribute to the livelihood of the Macekane community, but water scarcity poses a major obstacle to achieving this goal. There is also a need for more systematic planning and implementation of community programmes such as this to ensure their success. This research brings a new perspective to the topic of food insecurity as its focus is on a specific rural community and their experiences. It therefore fills a gap in the discourse on poverty alleviation and food shortages in rural areas. 2025-09-01T19:36:34Z 2025-09-01T19:36:34Z 2025 2025-09-01T19:31:45Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters SocSci http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41671 eng application/pdf Department of Social Development Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | food garden food security poverty alleviation Lugagu, Snenhlanhla Home food gardens and poverty alleviation in the rural area of Macekane, KwaZulu-Natal |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Home food gardens and poverty alleviation in the rural area of Macekane, KwaZulu-Natal |
| title_full | Home food gardens and poverty alleviation in the rural area of Macekane, KwaZulu-Natal |
| title_fullStr | Home food gardens and poverty alleviation in the rural area of Macekane, KwaZulu-Natal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Home food gardens and poverty alleviation in the rural area of Macekane, KwaZulu-Natal |
| title_short | Home food gardens and poverty alleviation in the rural area of Macekane, KwaZulu-Natal |
| title_sort | home food gardens and poverty alleviation in the rural area of macekane kwazulu natal |
| topic | food garden food security poverty alleviation |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41671 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lugagusnenhlanhla homefoodgardensandpovertyalleviationintheruralareaofmacekanekwazulunatal |