Exciting news for two remote farming communities near Phalaborwa!

Limpopo, South Africa (07 April 2026) – The African Conservation Trust (ACT) has helped install a cold room and solar power system at Gingirikani and Rixaka cooperatives in Phalakubeni village. This is a game-changer for local food growers to keep veggies fresh, reduce waste, and open doors to bigger markets.

Before the new cold room, farmers had to sell their vegetables on the very same day they picked them, because in the scorching summer heat, produce spoiled within hours. Now, they can harvest over several days and keep everything fresh until they have enough to make a big trip to market.

“We took our harvest to the market three times a week, and now we store it until we get enough produce. We don’t have waste or rotten stuff, and it’s improved our daily life.” says Vincent Mabunda, Coordinator at Gingirikani Cooperative.

At Gingirikani cooperative, a large insulated cold room was fitted inside a 6-metre shipping container, powered by a 6kW solar system. At Rixaka cooperative, a solar-powered borehole pump and drip irrigation system were installed. Together, the two cooperatives now farm five hectares of land with a full crop plan, growing seasonal veggies in large quantities.

The cooperatives are located near the Kruger National Park, quite far from big city markets. To bridge this gap, a refrigerated vehicle is being provided to transport crops, allowing farmers from both cooperatives to fill any weekly vegetable order and sell their fresh produce all the way to Johannesburg!

Making this happen took a team effort from several organisations, including ACT, Kruger to Canyons Non-Profit Company (K2C), and The African Stove Company (TASC), with financial support from K2C and TASC, enabling the installations.

Growing food in this region is not an easy task; farmers overcome many obstacles.

“Farmers face multiple food production challenges. Outward migration sees skilled workers leave for urban areas; many residents experience sustained unemployment, causing personal food insecurity; and small-scale farmers contend with drought, land degradation, and inadequate infrastructure.” says Carl Grossmann, Chairman of ACT.

On top of these hurdles, elephants from the nearby Kruger sometimes raid the gardens! Elephants Alive has stepped in with creative solutions like beehives to deter the ellies, along with chilli-based repellants, solar flashing lights, and metal strip fences. Watch towers have also been built at Gingirikani, which double as storerooms and honey harvesting stations.

More than 40 community volunteers work in the gardens and receive a stipend through the Social Employment Fund (SEF). Research shows that each SEF participant supports about six more people in their immediate family, meaning the ripple effect is major.

“Our families are thriving because more than 40 people volunteer in the gardens and receive a SEF stipend.” says Vincent.

Produce from the gardens is used in three impactful ways. The farmers eat it themselves, sell it to boost their income, or donate the surplus to vulnerable community members.

Sources: Project Africa.

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes and hear their incredible stories:

Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African. 

The post Remote Food Gardens in Phalaborwa Get a Major Boost appeared first on Good Things Guy.

Companies like FoodForward SA and Ladles of Love are rescuing produce and redistributing it in vulnerable communities

Cape Town, South Africa (20 March 2026) – A full third of all the food we produce, about 10 million tonnes annually, ends up in landfills as waste, despite 70% of South African households facing moderate or severe food insecurity during the course of a year, according to research by WWF.

To raise awareness and combat food waste, companies such as FoodForward SA and Ladles of Love have been recovering food and redistributing it to people in vulnerable communities.

We spent some time with the two companies to capture how they are helping to address food insecurity.

FoodForward SA (FFSA) works with farmers, manufacturers and retailers to recover edible surplus food. It distributes almost 21,000 tonnes of food annually, through 2,519 organisations across the country. It estimates that over a million meals are served daily through these partnerships.

In the Western Cape, donations are received at its warehouse and national head office in Lansdowne, Cape Town.

Andy du Plessis, managing director of FFSA, said, “Despite remarkable global advances in food production, vast quantities of edible surplus food are still discarded every day, while countless children go without a meal – sometimes for days. The devastating irony is that the food needed to save lives exists, yet remains out of reach for those who need it most.”

FFSA delivers supplies to central pick-up points where beneficiary organisations collect it. At Beautiful Gate in Philippi, food parcels are handed out as part of its Mother and Child Nutrition project to pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children under five.

On the day we visited, each parcel contained maize meal, samp, soup mix, tinned fish, soya mince, sunflower oil, peanut butter, jam, flour, baked beans, rice, sorghum porridge and a tray of eggs.

Ladles of Love, based in Epping, Cape Town, has a unique approach. Through its Feed the Soil programme, leftover and inedible food waste from homes and businesses is collected and converted into compost. This compost is then donated to community gardens which grow organic vegetables and greens. And so a cycle is completed, from discarded leftovers back to healthy fresh food.

“The beauty of this programme is when you see how food turns back into soil that regrows food,” says Daniele Diliberto, founder of Ladles of Love.

For a once-off fee of R200, Ladles of Love provides sawdust, bukashi and a container to store leftovers and food waste. At the Blue Route Mall every Tuesday, Arthur Ganco collects the full bins and swaps them for empty ones. This waste, more than 298 tons so far, is converted into compost for growing organic vegetables.

“For me the most important thing is that the waste that we generate does not go to landfills but is used productively. Everybody must do his bit,” said Jan Maree, receiving his new bin at the mall.

The produce for sale is from community farmers who also get the compost through the project.

GroundUp provides independent news about events and people in South Africa. If you would like to support the work they are doing, you can donate here, visit the website here or follow them on Facebook or Instagram.

Sources: GroundUp

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes and hear their incredible stories:

Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African. 

The post Turning Food Waste into Millions of Healthy Meals appeared first on Good Things Guy.

You don’t have to drop off the grid to get a good thing going! Becoming more self-sufficient at home starts with small – REALISTIC – steps that anyone can make.

South Africa (11 March 2026) – We’re not here to tell you the world is falling apart. But it is shifting, and the truth is that some of the best habits we can build aren’t born out of crisis at all. They come from a decision to do things a little differently…

To be a little less dependent on systems we can’t control, and a little more rooted in our own resourcefulness – you’d be surprised at just how much you might be holding back!

I first cottoned onto the idea of becoming ‘self-sufficient’ a few years ago, when I interviewed Tracey Michau, who after a career in corporate decided to change her life and become more independent doing so.

Tracey escaped the ‘rat race’ and now lives on her homestead in Cradock along with her husband, Toby, and their daughter, Savannah. She makes her own cheese, stores her own seeds, presses fresh juice straight from trees in her garden, and is a constant source of inspiration for people like me – and probably you, if you’re reading this – learning toward living a simpler, more independent lifestyle.

Our conversation sparked something in me. It made me realise that the greatest gift you can give yourself is independence to survive – and that, my friends, is a long game that demands you take small, thoughtful steps. Not big leaps.

You don’t need a farm and 20 chickens and 40 cows. You need a good mindset, and the willingness to start with small changes. Here are some ideas that have worked really well in kickstarting that journey for me!

Grow Something – Anything!

You don’t need a garden. You need a windowsill, a balcony, or even just a wall that faces the sun (vertical gardening is a thing!) Your go-to herbs like basil, parsley, mint, and chives grow happily in recycled yoghurt tubs, and they’ll save you money every single week. Spring onions regrow from their own roots in a glass of water on your kitchen counter. Lettuce and spinach can grow in old buckets on a balcony. If you have outdoor space – even a small stoep – tomatoes, peppers, and baby marrows are surprisingly easy and produce abundantly in our climate. And if you own your home, even a single fruit tree (a lemon, a fig, a guava) becomes a gift that keeps giving for many years.

Treat Water Like the Precious Thing It Is

You don’t need a borehole or a tank to be more water conscious, (though if you own your home, a Jojo is one of the best investments you can make). Slow and steady habits win the race, like keeping a bucket in your shower to catch the cold water while you wait for it to heat up can be used to flush the toilet or water your plants! Just the other day, I discovered that using a simple spray/mist bottle to clean apples or fruit can conserve loads of water while still rinsing away the nasties! Then there’s the age old toilet wisdom – ‘if it’s yellow…let it mellow’ – made even more effective by a spritz or two of homemade toilet drops – recipes are available all over the internet. None of these take more than a moment of intention and over time, they add up.

Save Seeds Like You’re Starting a Farm

Start saving seeds from what you eat – it builds food security for the future! This is a simple one, but you need to be informed before you start. It might be tempting to scoop the seeds from a tomato or pepper you’ve just bought at the shop and pop them in a pot, but this often doesn’t work the way you’d hope. Most produce sold in large supermarkets is grown from hybrid seeds which are bred specifically for commercial farming. The seeds inside those fruits and veggies may sprout, but the plant that grows from may be weak, unpredictable, or produce a very small yield. For seed saving to actually work, you need fresh produce grown from open-pollinated or heirloom varieties. For that, your best source is a farmers market, a small local grower, or a specialist seed supplier. Once you have the right source, saving seeds is simple! Rinse them, dry them on a paper towel, and store them in a labelled envelope somewhere cool and dry. Over time you build up a seed bank that costs you nothing.

Make Friends with Your Pantry

A well-stocked pantry is one of the most solid forms of security because you depend on food for survival. You don’t need to become a full-on ‘Doomsday Prepper,’ but it does help storing staples that a week of unexpected expenses or a shortage at the shops doesn’t send you into a spin! Plan your meals weekly. Shop with a list. Freeze bread before it goes stale. Freeze overripe bananas for baking. Learn to make one or two simple preserves – a chutney or a tomato sauce – especially when tomatoes are in season and cheap. Cook nose-to-tail! Broccoli stalks, cauliflower leaves, and potato skins are all perfectly delicious, beef and chicken bones make good stock and broth. Using every part of an ingredient is one of the easiest ways to stretch what’s in the fridge.

Make Friends With People!

Some of the most powerful self-sustainability isn’t actually about self at all, it’s about community. Getting to know your neighbours. Swapping surplus produce with your family or friends. Sharing a skill or starting a community garden. Buying staples together in bulk. The stokvel model has existed in South Africa for generations because collective resilience works!

Learn a Simple Skill

Learn one practical skill you don’t currently have. It could be sewing a button or hemming a pants, unclogging a drain, propagating plants, baking bread. YouTube has made this so accessible. Every skill you have is one less thing you have to pay someone else for, and one more thing you can offer someone else.

Pick one thing from this list. One tiny shift can make you feel so much more capable and a little less at the mercy of things outside your control. That’s not scarcity thinking, it’s wisdom and it’s always been available to us and we’re just choosing to lean into it.

Sources: GTG

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes and hear their incredible stories:

Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African. 

The post Small Ways to Start Living a Little More Self-Sufficiently appeared first on Good Things Guy.

In the heart of Cape Town’s busiest townships, a simple bag of plastic is doing something truly special: putting dinner on the table and school shoes on children’s feet.

Cape Town, South Africa (05 February 2026) – For disadvantaged families whose daily grind is trying to put food on the table, the City of Cape Town is helping residents turn recyclables into everyday essentials like groceries, toiletries, and school supplies.

Through the mobile Swop Shop, recycling has gotten closer to home. Residents bring their recyclables to the Swop Shop and exchange them for items of value, particularly grocery essentials.

Since August 2025, 52 tonnes of waste have been diverted from landfill, while families received R161,000 worth of goods in return.

A Delft resident, Ruth Sinclair, shared that women benefit greatly from the initiative as it allows them to obtain food to feed their children. She added that although she has tried to encourage others to participate in recycling, some unfortunately have yet to recognise the rewards the initiative offers.

According to the City’s Senior Professional Officer for Waste Services, Noel Johannessen, in the first year of the project (2019/20), just under 100 tonnes of recyclable waste were collected, benefitting the community. In the second year, it was just under 90 tonnes – proving the service to be quite effective.

The Swop Shop is funded by the City and supported through the sale of collected recyclables, but private businesses are also invited to contribute. Donations of goods or supplies help the initiative expand and reach more families.

The service is available in Delft, Wesbank, Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, Lwandle, and Nomzamo at two locations to ensure as many people as possible can benefit.

This simple idea is changing lives, one bag at a time, and bringing cleaner, more sustainable neighbourhoods to communities across the city.

Sources: City of Cape Town

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes and hear their incredible stories:

Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African. 

The post Cape Town Families are Trading Recyclables for Groceries appeared first on Good Things Guy.

For over a decade, Good Things Guy has celebrated helpers, heroes and healers… but now, there’s a place built specifically for them. The Helpers is live, and it’s ready to connect kindness to action.

South Africa (14 January 2026) – A decade ago, Good Things Guy started with one simple idea… that if we focused on what was good, we could change what we felt and ultimately change what we did. That by sharing stories of helpers, heroes, and everyday kindness, we could remind South Africans that hope isn’t something we wait for… it’s something we build.

But behind every hopeful story we share, there are thousands more happening in the shadows… stories that never reach the public because the people living them are too busy surviving. And for years, our inbox has been a front-row seat to that reality. Messages from people who aren’t looking for attention or a headline… they’re looking for help. Real help. Urgent help. Help that can’t wait until “next week”.

That’s why this week’s episode of ‘Good Things with Brent Lindeque‘ is more than just another episode.

It’s a new chapter.

This week, we are launching something incredibly special… something that has been in the hearts of the Good Things Guy team for years, something that was born out of need, built out of love and shaped by South Africans who never stopped showing up for each other.

On this week’s show, the incredible Good Things Guy editor, Tyler Leigh Vivier, joins me in studio as we officially launch The Helpers (and yes, it is live right now).

The Helpers is South Africa’s new centralised, user-driven charity directory. It is a platform designed to connect people who need help with organisations that can provide it… and to connect those who want to help with the causes that matter most to them. It’s practical, it’s searchable, and it’s built for speed, because when someone is in crisis, they don’t have time to scroll through endless Facebook posts or hope the right person sees their message. They need a place they can trust. A place that says, “Start here.”

Powered by the Good Things Guy team and created with the help of the amazing Druff Interactive team, The Helpers was born from something very real… and if you’ve been part of our community for a while, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, our inboxes were flooded, not just with stories of resilience and hope, but with hundreds… and then thousands… of messages from South Africans who needed help urgently. We read messages from people needing food parcels and shelter, families desperate to escape abuse, animal lovers trying to rescue strays with nowhere else to turn. The need was overwhelming then… and if we’re being honest… it’s more overwhelming now.

So, in the middle of that chaos, Tyler did what Tyler always does. She didn’t panic. She didn’t look away. She just got to work.

She created a “Charity” section on Good Things Guy, listing trusted organisations people could turn to. It was never meant to be a big thing… it was just meant to be useful. It was meant to make it easier for someone to find help without having to beg for it.

But that section grew. And grew. And grew.

And so did the need.

As Tyler says, “People weren’t just asking for a story… they were asking where to go next.”

So we built something bigger… because South Africa deserves it

In 2025, as Good Things Guy celebrated its 10-year birthday, we made a decision. We weren’t going to just keep sharing stories about helpers… we were going to create a tool for helpers.

We decided to build something bigger. Something better. Something that could genuinely change lives.

And that something is The Helpers.

It’s a growing directory of charitable organisations across South Africa, built so that whether you need help or want to help, you can find what you’re looking for… quickly, safely, and with confidence.

You can search by area, which means if you’re looking for help near you in places like Johannesburg, Bloemfontein or Cape Town, you can find organisations in your community and around the country. You can also search by cause, which means whether your heart beats for gender-based violence support, education, cancer support, animal welfare, food security, shelter, or any other urgent need… you can find the right place to direct your support.

It’s for people who need help.

It’s for people who want to help.

And it’s for South Africans who still believe in the power of showing up for each other.

The Helpers is an extension of Good Things Guy, powered by the same team who have been sharing South Africa’s good news for over a decade, but this platform is not about us.

It’s about you… the helpers, the heroes, the healers and the warriors of hope.

We believe in a better South Africa. And we believe this is how we build it… not with big speeches, but with real connections, real support and real action.

The Helpers is live right now… and it’s only just the beginning.

*We asked 50 charities to register as a “soft-launch” to test the site. But we are now open for any and all charities, organisations and individuals to add their voice – for free – to this growing, helping directory.

Watch and listen to the episode on all our social platforms (like all of them).
New episodes drop weekly.
Powered by BetterBond. Filmed at Primedia Studios.
Stories that matter. Conversations that count.

Sources: Good Things Guy | The Helpers 

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes and hear their incredible stories:

Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African. 

The post The Helpers is Live… And it Might Be the Most Important Thing We’ve Ever Built appeared first on Good Things Guy.

As part of their final mark, students at UP were tasked with finding creative ways to turn food waste into something you’d grab off the shelf and order from a menu.

Pretoria, South Africa (04 December 2025) – Every year, South Africa throws away tons of usable food. Most of this waste occurs during harvesting, transport, and production, long before produce even makes it to us (consumers).

So for their final project, UP’s Consumer and Food Sciences students decided to take that problem and turn it into dinner for their guests.

The event was called UPCycled, and it challenged them to create dishes and nutritious products using ingredients and materials that would usually be chucked in landfill.

Retail Management students developed three products, complete with packaging! There was STOAT, sweet or savoury oats with ‘ugly’ fruit-based spice mix. Benefiz, fizzy tabs designed to enhance beverages, made from fruit and veggie trimmings and enriched with collagen extracted from entrails. Lastly, Noods & Moods, a combo meal of hot and spicy vegetable-filled ramen cup, and a vegan macadamia nut ice cream with spent coffee grounds and nut chips.

Culinary and Hospitality students treated guests to dinner. The full menu was built entirely around rescued food and production offcuts. The focus was on sustainability, food security and zero waste. We’d inhale it all – potato croquettes dusted in onion ash, a reimagined beef Wellington made with coffee-cocoa ragu, an amasi cheesecake with rooibos coulis and strawberry mousse…

From food to fashion, Clothing Management students got involved too, reimagining waste in a different way. They created outfits made from old bread packets and plastic shopper bags.

All of this was showcased at Moja Gabedi, a space that used to be an illegal dumping site in Hatfield. UP cleaned it up, turned it into a community garden, and now uses it as a space where students grow food with local residents to help curb hunger.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UPCYCLE (@foodwaste_upcycled)

Every project was built around a bigger point that if we learn to use what we already have, we waste less, harm less, and feed more people who actually need it. The onus isn’t only on the consumer, waste starts long before that. The ingredients we overlook still have value. Scraps can become sustenance. Students can rethink the whole system in ways that feel sustainable, doable and hopeful.

Sources: Supplied

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes and hear their incredible stories:

Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post UP Students Turn Discards Into Actually Nutritious Products & Dishes! appeared first on Good Things Guy.

Would you swap your go-to herbs and spices for indigenous alternatives if it meant a healthier and more secure food future?

South Africa (17 October 2025) –  When we talk about food security, most of us think about whether there’s enough food to go around. But it’s also about what food is on our plates, and how we can protect the biodiversity of indigenous crops that are quietly disappearing from our diets.

To put it into perspective, out of almost 400,000 plant species growing on this planet, just six account for more than half of all crops produced globally. Only six.

Those are the big, uniform staples we find all around the world, like sugar cane, maize, rice, and wheat.

Even though they’re available almost everywhere, those staples alone don’t give us the variety or nutrition our bodies need, and they push out indigenous crops that are actually packed with nutrients and grow better in local climates.

Global agriculture has already lost around 75% of its crop genetic diversity as farmers switch to higher-yielding but uniform crops.

Dr Hennie Fisher from the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Department of Consumer and Food Science says that change is needed to protect food security. That change may be a move towards including more indigenous crops on the plate.

“With about 3.2 billion people worldwide unable to afford a healthy diet and 900 million people experiencing severe food insecurity, we need to move away from diets that contain higher proportions of cheaper, nutrient-poor, highly processed foods, and embrace the value of indigenous crops.”

The stats on diet-related deaths in SA are sobering, but they make a point for it, too. According to Stats SA, South Africa alone saw deaths related to obesity, diabetes and hypertension increase by 58,7% over 20 years, from 1997-2018.

“By eating a wider variety of plant species and diversifying our diets, we can build resilience into the food system while improving health outcomes for consumers,” says Richard Hay, curator of the Future Africa Institute’s Indigenous and Orphan Crops Collection.

So, could we put more diversity back on our plates? Students at UP have already been testing it.

Recently, a class of 38 Consumer and Culinary Science students were asked to cook with both common commercial herbs and their indigenous counterparts that share similar flavour profiles to determine if they would make suitable alternatives. Surprisingly, African wild rosemary (Eriocephalus africanus) and golden sage (Salvia aurea) are viable alternatives to common rosemary and sage.

“Our work focuses on combating global dietary homogenisation by screening consumer acceptance of underutilised plant species among young consumers, and determining if exposure to novel plant species through the teaching and learning environment is likely to alter future cooking behaviours,” Dr Fisher explains.

This work is a glimmer of hope. Real change could be possible by reintroducing indigenous and nutritious plants back into kitchens and communities.

Sources: Supplied

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post Should We Be Including More Indigenous Crops In Our Diets? appeared first on Good Things Guy.

At 72 and 75, Lisa and Colin could be enjoying quiet days at home. Instead, they’re building a crèche out of plastic bottles and changing the world for an entire community.

Johannesburg, South Africa (11 August 2025) – When most people retire, the plan usually involves slowing down. Maybe more tea, more grandkids or more gardening. But for Lisa and Colin Ekman, 72 and 75, “retirement” has been anything but quiet. Instead, these two have rolled up their sleeves, grabbed some plastic bottles and decided to make a difference in one of South Africa’s most underserved communities.

The Ekmans have lived a life of service. Colin spent 16 years as a minister at Village Church Lonehill before starting a building company. Lisa was an art teacher at Riversands, near Diepsloot, and also served as Managing Director for a South African Sunday school curriculum called iVangeli. Over the years, they’d crossed paths with local community leader Bishop Dlothi, and when their working days came to an end, they knew they weren’t done making an impact.

“We wanted to make our final years relevant for our local community,” Lisa told Good Things Guy. “We’ve worked all around Africa, but now we wanted to focus nearer to home at Diepsloot, which is only 10km away from Lonehill.”

Partnering with Earthly Touch, a local NPO that had previously built classrooms from 2-litre plastic bottles, they began a project to construct a crèche at The Vineyard Church. But this isn’t your average build. The walls are literally made of Eco Bricks… plastic bottles stuffed with non-recyclable waste like chip packets and bread bags. The process is as clever as it is sustainable. Schools across Johannesburg, the local Diepsloot community and volunteers collect bottles and fill them with plastic that would otherwise end up in landfills. For stability, the lower bottles near the foundation are filled with sand. Brick pillars provide support, but the bulk of the wall is built from these recycled bottles. Not only does this keep waste out of the environment but it also saves significantly on construction costs.

The current crèche project needs R80,000 to complete, but Lisa and Colin are already thinking ahead. The next crèche and adult education centre have already been chosen to start later this year. Teachers from these centres attend Early Childhood Development classes and earn formal qualifications, ensuring that the children in their care get the best start possible.

But the Ekmans’ vision extends beyond education.

Concerned by the University of the Witwatersrand’s findings that stunted growth in poverty-stricken areas affects children’s mental capacity, they launched vegetable gardens at Diepsloot churches to provide fresh produce for crèches. What started with six gardens has now grown into 40 allotment gardens, each 6m x 500mm, allocated to elderly members and friends from local churches, many of them non-nationals who receive no government grants.

These gardens are carefully managed: each has a “captain” overseeing the watering and weeding and participants receive a small stipend. Culterra supplies compost to enrich the poor local soil, and seedlings are provided to ensure continuous harvests.

It’s not just about vegetables or bricks, it’s about dignity, self-sufficiency and building a community that thrives together.

Lisa and Colin’s work has already inspired many to get involved.

“Any help financially or collecting and stuffing the bottles would be most appreciated,” they say.

Their registered NPO, Cherith, can provide 18A certificates so donations are tax-deductible, but more than that, this is a chance for everyday South Africans to be part of something truly special.

At an age when most people are stepping back, Lisa and Colin are stepping up. And their story is a powerful reminder that purpose doesn’t come with an expiry date… and neither does the ability to change the world.

Sources: Interview with Lisa Ekman and Colin Ekman 

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African. 

The post At 72 and 75, This Couple is Proving Retirement is the Perfect Time to Change the World appeared first on Good Things Guy.

In 2017, Johan Scott turned a petty theft into something powerful. A single stolen vegetable led to a garden that would feed a community… and now, in 2025, his story is making waves once more.

Heidelberg, South Africa (21 June 2025) – Sometimes, the internet gives an old story new life. That’s exactly what’s happening right now.

A 2017 story about Johan Scott, a retired policeman from Heidelberg, South Africa, is suddenly going viral again. It’s doing the rounds on Facebook, being shared by pages and people who may not know the full background… but it’s hitting home regardless.

And it’s no surprise why.

It all started with a single stolen cauliflower.

Most people would’ve been annoyed. Maybe even angry. But Johan saw it differently. The missing vegetable made him pause. It made him realise that someone nearby must have been hungry… hungry enough to help themselves.

So instead of putting up a fence or a camera, Johan planted more.

More vegetables. More hope. More kindness.

“It makes my heart happy when I see people eating my vegetables,” he told us in 2017. “That is why I planted this… because the people are hungry, they need this.”

Johan turned the pavement outside his home into a thriving little garden filled with beans, tomatoes, eggplants and beetroot. And told his community they were welcome to help themselves. No charge. No catch. Just food and dignity, freely given.

It was one of the very first stories we shared about growing food for the community… and it’s stuck with us (and South Africa) ever since. Unfortunately, we don’t have a new update on Johan or how his garden is doing in 2025. But what we can tell you is this: his story planted something far bigger than he may have imagined.

Since that viral moment in 2017, we’ve written dozens of stories about ordinary South Africans doing extraordinary things… all by planting vegetables on pavements, in parks, outside schools, or even in wheelbarrows. We’ve seen community champions grow free food gardens in townships, business owners create veggie stands for anyone in need and kids start planting for their neighbours. And in every single one of those stories, the idea is the same: people are hungry… and we can help.

There’s something deeply powerful about these simple gestures, and it’s not because they solve hunger overnight but because they remind us that compassion doesn’t need permission. You don’t need a big budget or a fancy plan. Sometimes all it takes is some seeds, a bit of soil and the will to share.

Desmond Tutu said it best, “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

So if you’re seeing Johan’s story again and wondering if kindness still exists, yes, it does. It’s growing all around us. One veggie patch at a time.

PS… this story may be the seed you needed to start your own “good things garden”!

Sources: Good Things Guy 

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post South Africa’s Favourite Pavement Garden is Back in the Spotlight appeared first on Good Things Guy.

New trucks for SA Harvest will improve food rescue logistics and reach underserved areas.

Johannesburg, South Africa (20 May 2025) — Non-profit organisation SA Harvest has expanded its fleet with the addition of new trucks (including a refrigerated vehicle) to improve its efforts in redirecting surplus food to communities in need!

The Johannesburg-based organisation rescues food that would otherwise go to waste; distributing it to organisations that feed hungry South Africans.

Considering that South Africa is estimated to throw away more than 10 million tonnes of food each year while around 20 million people go hungry, the food waste crisis in our country is dire.

However, Ozzy Nel, the Chief Operating Officer at SA Harvest, says it can’t be chalked down to a scarcity crisis.

“Hunger is a logistical crisis, not a scarcity crisis,” Ozzy says, adding that the new fleet of trucks are aimed at the non-profit amping up its efficiency and a “collaborative movement of food” in South Africa.

The Movers Behind the Movement

The new fleet will allow the organisation to reach more remote areas and ultimately, transport greater volumes of food. But, it’s not just about the trucks. Beyond horsepower is the power of purpose-driven partnerships, logistics providers who contribute their underutilised resources (empty return legs and short-term vehicle support) to make a difference.

In this way, SA Harvest successfully redirects surplus and what would likely become food waste.

Earlier this year, SA Harvest worked with one of the country’s largest vegetable farmers to rescue more than 200,000 kgs of surplus butternut squash at risk of going to waste due to oversupply.

With the help of several logistics partners, the veggies were collected and delivered to a whopping 40 community organisations across two provinces! This was only possible through the coordination of multiple logistics teams.

Logistics partners receive Section 18A tax certificates for their in-kind transport donations, access to environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting data and public recognition for their role.

Technology plays a central role in the organisation’s operations, with real-time analytics and a central Power BI dashboard to track key metrics, including food volumes rescued, emissions avoided, delivery efficiency, and cost savings to community partners.

As such, SA Harvest is inviting more logistics providers to join its growing network. Whether through occasional unused routes, shared warehouse space or temporary access to transport, the logistics industry can make a measurable difference.

“In the right hands, logistics becomes more than transport,” says Nel. “It becomes a bridge between waste and want – a way to create meaningful, lasting change.”

You can find out more about the non-profit, here. 

Sources: Supplied

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post SA Harvest Expands Fleet to Tackle Hunger Crisis!  appeared first on Good Things Guy.