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February 2013 -
November 2013 -
Farmville -
October 2012
PHOTOS Jan Ras, Maciek Dubla, Leigh Page WORDS Maciek Dubla
If, a year ago, you’d have stepped onto the site of the Oranjezicht City Farm (OZCF), located on an abandoned bowling green between Sidmouth Avenue and Upper Orange Street, it would’ve been hard to imagine what it is today: a thriving urban farm celebrating local food, culture and community.
“I always say that I don’t buy green bananas,” beams Sheryl Ozinsky (pictured above), one of the project champions who has seen OZCF grow from the very first planted seed. “Getting older, you want to see things happen fast, so the team has been inspired, and we have come a long way in a very short space of time.”
In just over a year, the urban farm has captured the imagination of thousands of people and made incredible progress, from hundreds of volunteers motivated to contribute, to learners and academics from SA and abroad, as well as local residents, all sharing ideas around community building, food security and urban design.
What’s more, it has sprouted a weekly neighbourhood market that’s actually in the neighbourhood! Held on Saturdays in Homestead Park adjacent to the farm, the OZCF Market Day is a community market for independent local farmers and artisanal food producers. And, of course, it sells OZCF produce.
An official World Design Capital 2014 project, this year the team is in the process of writing a book to be published in September. It will celebrate the making of the urban farm, while inviting readers to listen to the echoes from the past. “And another 10 urban farms across Cape Town, all working together,” Sheryl pipes in. “But perhaps we’ll leave that for 2015.”
