Lasher Partners with Project Lima to Bring Fresh Vegetables to Diepsloot

Fresh fruit, vegetables and a selection of legumes are the mainstay of a healthy, balanced diet. But for many South Africans living below the poverty line, even the inexpensive basics are above their means, let alone the prescribed “five a day”.

As a result, many people rely on low-priced store-bought food such as maize meal, heavily processed meat products like polony, white sugar and refined cooking oils as their go-to staples – a combination which can simultaneously lead to malnutrition and obesity, as a result of the poor nutritional value of these foodstuffs.

Areas like Diepsloot, in Johannesburg, home to roughly 400 000 people, experience high levels of unemployment often as a result of poor education or skill sets to find jobs.

It’s for this reason that Lasher has partnered with Project Lima on an ambitious food-growing initiative that ultimately aims to bring a thriving fresh produce market to the impoverished township. Lasher believes that by upholding its mandate to provide “tough and reliable tools”, it will continue to grow the economy, not only through job creation, but also by providing quality tools to industries and entrepreneurs. Project Lima was initiated by Pastor Setemo Diothi who saw an opportunity for the unemployed congregants of his God’s Will Faith Ministry Church to engage in a food growing initiative, that would not only provide healthy produce to feed their families, but eventually become an income-generation project for the community. Lasher has partnered with Project Lima by donating the necessary tools as well as by paying for quality training from the ‘Let it Grow Foundation’.

After receiving intensive two-day training from the ‘Let it Grow Foundation’ on soil preparation and composting, the Project Lima team has prepared substantial vegetable beds and composting bins at three churches in Diepsloot, and are now ready to receive further training and to plant their first crops.

Given that it is mid-winter and the Project Lima team is still learning the basics of food growing, the initial gardens will be planted with seedlings, but in future seed saving and replanting will be practised.

Once these gardens are established, captains will be appointed to spread their knowledge to other members of the Diepsloot community with the aim that more people will grow their own vegetables from their homes.

Project Lima has also been allocated a piece of municipal land, which will eventually serve as an allotment with the goal of selling on fresh, affordable produce to the community.

Now in its 90th year Lasher is the only local manufacturer of quality hand tools and is a Proudly South African company. To celebrate its 90 birthday Lasher is committed to supporting 90 worthy local projects that are working to create jobs. Food security and the environment are just two of the areas that have been identified as opportunities for Lasher to make meaningful contributions towards growing South Africa.

Issued by Stone Soup PR on behalf of LASHER
Karen Cooper, 011 447 7241, karen@stonesoup.co.za

After receiving intensive two-day training from the ‘Let it Grow Foundation’ on soil preparation and composting, the Project Lima team has prepared substantial vegetable beds and composting bins at three churches in Diepsloot, and are now ready to receive further training and to plant their first crops.

Given that it is mid-winter and the Project Lima team is still learning the basics of food growing, the initial gardens will be planted with seedlings, but in future seed saving and replanting will be practised.

Once these gardens are established, captains will be appointed to spread their knowledge to other members of the Diepsloot community with the aim that more people will grow their own vegetables from their homes.

Project Lima has also been allocated a piece of municipal land, which will eventually serve as an allotment with the goal of selling on fresh, affordable produce to the community.