Agriculture has for a very long time been in the hands of women. Women use to work the fields to provide food for their families while men were out hunting. Food not only provides nutrition and brings families together, it has also been used as medicine. Women knew the right herbs or food to use to treat certain diseases and this was easy because everything used, such as herbicides and fertilizers, was organic.

But in the process of globalisation things have changed and we witnessed how food systems has been commodified. Everything including the seeds and fertilizers became very expensive and is in the hands of corporates. This made life very difficult for rural women as agriculture became so expensive and their children became malnourished as a result of inadequate food with nutrients. As a result, rural women in Mafeteng district and Berea took action and decided to start nutrition clubs. In the nutrition clubs, women use agroecology methods to produce food for their households as a way to meet the food and nutrient shortages in the food we eat.

At the end of Women’s month, the Berea nutrition clubs held a celebration with Hope for Rural Women members calling for the protection of women against any form of abuse. They also hosted a peaceful march with placards showing different messages speaking out against abuse. They were joined by government departments including Social Development, Child Gender and Protection Unit as well as the District Administration Officer on 31 August in Berea and took their demands to the district resource centre.

In the Mafeteng district the women started small keyhole gardens in their yards to help to ensure food secure households. Women who attended the Feminist Agroecology school in Zimbabwe, are also assisting with helping women develop household gardens using agroecological practices. Food which is grown in this manner is healthy with a lot of nutrients. We have introduced gardens in every household, especially of amongst our members.