Hammanskraal is a project close to the heart of agricultural project manager and environmental upliftment specialist Jacques Damhuis, owner of Positive Cycle. Beginning with a community garden allocated to a few learners, the Hammanskraal project has become the 'paying it forward' model which Positive Cycle would very much like to see spreading around South Africa. Considerable advice, expertise, seedlings, seeds, plant food and soil inputs have been used to teach people in Hammanskraal how to maximise yields and minimise crop losses. It isn't always easy in Hammanskraal, with water shortages threatening crop survival far more frequently than is good for the nerves. Rain is sometimes seen as a very real godsend. Planting techniques, as well as an understanding of soil health, companion plants and what makes a healthy farm altogether have not only benefitted the gardens Positive Cycle has visited but have spread knowledge and enthusiasm through the whole community. That is what is meant by 'paying it forward' because each community member realises that helping a neighbour today with seeds or advice means better protection all around, communities can co operate to sell harvests which sold one plot at a time would be insignificant but marketed together can generate real funds for significant agricultural investment in the future.
The sight of such productive gardens and hard working people in what can only be described as adverse conditions is inspiring and also gratifying. People on the ground in peri urban and rural South Africa have to realise that even small scale agriculture has benefits for them, particularly when one considers the impact of bio dynamic food growing technique on the overall year by year cost of growing food. The Positive Cycle methodology ensures a high yield of a varied crop that can be reproduced from the same soil again and again, because we train people to treasure organic material and teach them about composting techniques that maximise the nutrients in their soil. Many South Africans have not been educated as to the value of organic material and the role it has to play in soil health and consequently plant and human health. Healthy soil will mean healthy people. It's about more than successful small farms, it's about a generally improved environment. Making a world in which children and adults alike are well nourished, healthy and feel good about themselves because they know they live in a natural environment, full of plants that go a long way to improve the appearance of an area besides all the obvious benefits like food security and improved health.