Lindelani Donald Maraganedzha

Category
Rural Development Projects

Age
30

Organisation / Company
Delta Racklers Farm
Website

Profile

Lindelani Donald Maraganedzha is the founder and chief executive of Delta Racklers Farm near Thohoyandou, which he started in 2016. Lindelani completed his degree in environmental sciences with honours at the University of Venda, and has directed numerous projects to raise environmental awareness and promote agriculture, including inviting all his friends to learn more about how to use the agriculture system to protect and preserve the environment. He was one of the students who started the Universal Greening Organization to raise awareness about  environmental concerns in the Vhembe district. Through this he gained skills and knowledge about how to reduce environmental degradation. Delta Racklers grows fruit and vegetables, which it supplies to traders and local residents. He promotes people growing food at home or if they have access to land to address food insecurity and provide healthy food. His desire is to make farming fashionable among young people. Lindelani’s job entails being involved in the management and cultivation of crops, as well as maintaining the health of the land. He also manages finances, does the marketing and sales for the business. Students studying agronomy also do their fieldwork at the farm. Lindelani has also received a number of entrepreneurial awards.

List your educational background - qualifications and institutions?

• Bachelor of Environmental Sciences, University of Venda 
• Honours in Environmental Sciences, University of Venda

Any awards or achievements in your field?

• Awarded R50 000 as one of the Indalovator Young Entrepreneurs
• Awarded R50 000 from the National Youth Development Agency
• Awarded R10 000 by the executive mayor of Vhembe
• Nominated for the Vhembe Young Entrepreneurs awards

One childhood memory that has spurred you to such levels of achievement?

The spirit of not quitting, the zeal to reach the goal in spite of the challenges.

Advice to your younger self?

Believe in yourself. Do not despise the days of small beginnings.

What would you like South Africa to look like in five years?

I would like to see a South Africa that produces its own food and households who live below the poverty line having fresh food readily available in their back gardens. I would also like to see an increase in young black agropreneurs.