The SA Savory Hub and Holistic Land and
Livestock Management initiatives in the Eastern Cape
Article and photos by SR Brody
SA Savory Hub facilitator
T
he SA Savory Hub, under
the management of
trained facilitators Helgaard and Natalie Smith,
was established in the scenic Eastern Cape hamlet of Hogsback in
mid-2014. The Hub which is situated on a 5500 hectare commercial
farm where Holistic farming principles were introduced some 15 years
ago is primarily involved in offering
training in respect of the globally
respected Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM) principles formulated by Allan Savory, a
leading international environmentalist.
The Hub not only offers assistance
and training to commercial farmers
in respect of introducing sustainable and environmentally-friendly
farming practices but is also presently involved in an innovative pilot
project in the communal farming
area of Zulukama. Zulukama is an
area comprised of 38 small rural
An HLLM management member from
Mceula Village considers a map of the
virtual camps
villages dispersed over approximately 1800 square kilometres and
falls into the greater Hewu district
of the former Ciskei Bantustan.
One of the regional legacies of
apartheid is a somewhat disjointed
economic system which took root
in this area which is home to thousands of small scale communal
farmers who primarily subsist via
raising sheep, cattle, and goats.
Over a prolonged period these
farmers have been incapacitated in
terms of developing sustainable
farming strategies. The rampant
theft of fencing, shortfalls in profession-specific education, and a
plethora of other problems has resulted in a dire situation in which
wandering livestock and consequential overgrazing has caused
substantial damage to livestock
grazing areas.
Numerous poignant and heartrending stories abound of inhabitants
who lost all their livestock due to
droughts and bitter winters and
therefore had to migrate to the cities in order to survive. Such cases
are profound not only when considering that many of these folk had
placed their entire life savings into
their livestock but also when considering that livestock ownership in
communal areas plays various essential roles in terms of preserving
culture and maintaining societal
identity.
On a more macro level, when considering that we have a perpetually
urbanising population, now standing at over 60%, communal farming areas will need to play an ever
increasing role in underpinning national food security. Under the umbrella of the SA Savory Hub, numerous stakeholders have entered into
strategic relationships aimed at developing and implementing strategies which are not only able to rescue the aforementioned ominous
societal situation in such areas but
Herder training undergo with a
sample herd at Mceula Village
Bare areas at Mceula
years of