What does your community need? It was a simple question, and of the 22 entrepreneurs attending the Paradigm Shift training at Seed of Hope, just about each one of them took some time to process. It seemed like a new concept to them. As entrepreneurs, they need to know their customer base and they need […]
As a 12 year old school boy, Zephania used to get up at 2am in the morning to work the fields with his family and at 5am would return to his home to get ready for school. His grandfather was a commercial farmer growing cotton, sugar beans, and maize. His mother grew food for the […]
The sewing room at Seed of Hope has been a safe place and a sanctuary for women this past year. They have learnt new skills, developed confidence, shared each other’s burdens, and faced personal fears. Every new year, however, another group of our sewing students are ready to leave the nest and test their wings […]
Up until recently, our demonstration plots have been limited to three 6m by 6m demonstration / training gardens, which we call, “Well-Watered Gardens” (see Isaiah 58). These gardens have served to showcase the great results that can be achieved with Farming God’s way, as well as to provide an outdoor training classroom for learners to […]
Many people who experience a warm weather Christmas for the first time express how strange it feels to have Christmas without cool weather and snow. This will now be our fourth Christmas in South Africa. The kids (Jeremy and Abby) still reminisce a little about missing the snow, but I have to say, I don’t […]
A brown box… everyone looks at it with curiosity. It sits on the table and it has a rope tied around it so that no one can look inside it. The facilitator asks for volunteers. Who would like to participate in this exercise? Many hands go up. This is our first Bhekulwandle community gathering at […]
We’re at the end of our first term in the field. Almost 4 years ago, we resigned from our ministry positions in Calgary and began raising funds to transition to South Africa. Now that 3 years have passed in South Africa, we’re heading back to Canada for 3 months and time with family, friends and […]
Two weeks ago, a young man from Bhekulwandle, whom I’d never met, came to the Seed of Hope Centre asking to see me. His name is Melusi. He came into my office, and within the first minute asked me to give him a bible. What would you do? I engaged him in conversation about himself […]
I get excited when I think of how Seed of Hope Community Development’s after school education program is evolving, developing, maturing. In the early days, the idea was to provide a safe place for children to come after school – a kind of after-school care program where children could come, learn about Jesus, and get […]
Xoliswe is a beautiful mom to be. Jane Hampton and I recently visited her at her home (above). She is married to Mlu and they have 2 children. Xoliswe attends Oasis church and last year attended Farming Gods Way at Seed of Hope. She wants to be a businesswoman and farming her land is one […]