More than a hundred temporary jobs have been created after a Greening Project in Vhembe and Public Works Minister Geoff Doige officially launched Food for Waste in the Thulamela local municipality last week.

The project, which will cover 11 rural schools, will also benefit learners, as they will supplement their feeding scheme and the surplus will also to be given to needy learners. Doige visited the different schools that are participating in the project and had firsthand experience from learners and volunteers. The main function was held at Tshisahulu Stadium.

The project has been piloted in Thulamela Municipality, where 10 schools will be involved in starting community nurseries that will help create temporary employment in local communities, with emphasis on skills development for future self-sustenance to the beneficiaries. It is also aimed at eradicating malnutrition and assisting the schools’ nutrition programme in providing healthy food. Each of the 10 schools will receive a 600m2 indigenous tree garden, 30 indigenous trees, 30 fruit trees and a 150 m ² vegetable garden. The project is funded by the public works department and coordinated by the Independent Development Trust and the implementation of the project is carried out by the South African National Biodiversity Institute.

The Food for Waste project by the municipality is aimed at areas that do not receive waste removal whereby residents will collect rubbish and hand it over to the municipality in exchange of food parcels. The project has received a cash injection of R1 million from the Department of Public Works and will target those living in low-cost housing in the municipality. Many of the beneficiaries received food parcels during the launch.