Development Facilitator: Agro-biodiversity, Community Public Private Partnership, Department of Trade and Industry
The meaning of Mapule’s name is ‘she who brings rain”, so it is appropriate that she helps to bring good fortune to marginalised rural communities. She helps people to set up their own businesses, based on indigenous food sources such as goats and African vegetables. ‘Our goal is to get these products into the mainstream market,” she explains.
Although most rural people already rely on traditional foodstuffs, they do little more than scrape by. ‘We saw the potential in indigenous foods, which are adapted to harsh climatic conditions. People still retain the indigenous knowledge inherent in these resources.”
As a first step, Mapule does a feasibility study to assess how viable a proposed venture may be. Then she seeks support from public and private partners.
‘I love helping to transform communities from a hopeless, poverty-stricken state to where they have money in their pockets. It builds their confidence.”
As the custodians of indigenous knowledge, women play a central role in the projects, she adds. ‘Women are so often kept in the background, especially in agriculture, but our programme is slowly changing this.”