The session began promptly despite a few late arrivals, with participants sharing brief reports on ongoing agricultural and community initiatives.
Several members sent apologies for their absence
Prof. Emma Archer kicked off the updates, noting preparations for an upcoming graduation on Monday. She apologized for a communication mishap that prevented Dr. Fraser Maphfuma from delivering a scheduled talk the previous Friday—and assured the group she would reschedule the presentation soon.
Thoko followed, reporting limited activity due to the suspension of the Manyano group.
A general meeting for all Bryanston Manyanos was planned, with hopes for a peaceful resolution.
Paul inquired about potential involvement in agricultural projects, but Thoko clarified that while there was some activity, her focus had been diverted by the Manyano issues.
Anthony Modena shared that he had canceled a planned trip to the West Coast and was currently in Johannesburg.
He intended to connect with John early the following week to discuss next steps on their collaborative efforts at Jabavu.
John Dearden provided an update, mentioning no recent response from Jonathan regarding an outstanding list, so the Jabavu visit with Anthony will be helpful.
He relayed an apology from Nelisa in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), who was making progress on a school-based land project but emphasized the importance of regular reporting to inspire the group.
Bishop Paul highlighted emerging interest from the KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council in pursuing agriculture on church land, suggesting potential opportunities for the group to provide support as plans develop.
Mr. Mbatha, reported productive work on the community plot in Eikenhof. With his team, they had cleared and replanted the area to prevent it from being overtaken by others.
Using seeds provided by Anthony, during a previous gathering in Soweto, they sowed onions, beetroot, and carrots.
Additionally, they dug a hole for water access, utilizing a donated pipe for irrigation, and expressed a need for a water pump or engine to enhance efficiency.
Dr. Modise reported on a recent nine-day trip to Zimbabwe, where discussions with universities advanced negotiations for a School of Agriculture project to be initiated in South Africa. He committed to sharing contact details for colleagues at Lupin University to facilitate connections for Paul.
With no further questions or reports, Paul wrapped up the meeting, wishing everyone a good weekend. He proposed shifting the next Friday's session to 2:00 PM to accommodate his travel to Port Elizabeth.
Overall, the meeting underscored steady, if modest, progress across various community agriculture efforts, with a focus on collaboration, resource sharing, and overcoming logistical challenges. The group remains committed to inspiring one another through consistent updates and exploring new opportunities, such as church-land initiatives in KZN.
Although unable to attend the meeting on Friday, Jack Armour’s hands were full with fire mitigation, tracking and fighting.
He shared a host of valuable infomation from realtime monitors for Fire and Disease outbreaks.
Fire Danger index:* useful resource - also shows 2 days in advance if planning burning activities - it is illegal to conduct controlled burning operations during Red and Orange times. https://www.weathersa.co.za/home/fireindex
The CSIR has developed a real time heat mapper to monitor in real-time current fire activity: https://www.afis.co.za/
Notifiable Animal Disease outbreaks: & RMIS has a map of current Notifiable Animal Disease outbreaks https://rmis.co.za/disease-incidents/
Jack also found time to sharenews from Toyota with their upcoming initiatives. More infomation can be found on these websites.
Applications can be down loaded for both Competitions, from the Citrus Growers Associations websites, open to all.
Check them out today though, as some entries close soon.
https://www.cga.co.za/2025-toyota-new-harvest-competition/
Although Scott also could’nt attend the meeting, we were still on his radar
as he shared the new offerrings from UFS.
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