I've met a few organic farmers before and always enjoy finding out the fascinating stories behind where my food comes from. But for the last eight weeks I've been mostly dependent on one particular farmer for my vegetable sustenance. That farmer is Erick Zenzele and this is the story of how Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has made a difference to both of us.

The short version of the story is that I got to eat organic, fresh produce that was grown about 45 minutes drive from where I live, was good value for money and the supply chain was really short: farmer -> delivery man -> me. Good for freshness and a lower carbon footprint.

Erick benefitted by knowing that he has a guaranteed order at a fixed price for a fixed time period. He didn't need to worry about marketing his produce or getting his produce to market. This meant that barring catastrophic weather events and biblical plagues he could focus on the actual planting, growing and harvesting and keeping the bugs away from the produce.

The whole idea behind a Community Supported Agriculture scheme is, as the name suggests, that there is a group of consumers who want to eat good food and use their purchasing power to make a difference directly to the farmer growing their food. So it's really a partnership between those eating the food and the farmer producing the food.

How it worked.
I signed up for the eight week spring CSA which cost R 399 and was payable up front. It ran from 15 September through to 3 November and worked out at just less than R 50 per week. This is what I got for my money:
- a weekly veggie bag containing a selection of six different, organically produced vegetables (vegetable selection changes every week)
- a weekly newsletter containing the "vegetable forecast" and recipe
- the chance to visit the farm where the vegetables were grown and to meet Erick the farmer

It was nice to know that most of the money I spent was going directly to the farmer and not fattening every one else in the supply chain except the farmer for a change. Erick is an emerging farmer so the money that is going to him is not just benefitting him, but he will spend that money locally and so it also benefits his immediate community.

The veggie bag needed to be collected at one of the collection points around Cape Town. The closest one to me was in Newlands and although I live in Plumstead, my son is at school in Kenilworth, so not too much of a trek. There were only a few collection points available so hopefully this will change in future as more local collection points are added.

What was in the bag.
There were six vegetable items every week - here's a sample of what we got:
Week one: 315g small carrots, 600g (5 medium) sweet potatoes, 1 bunch leeks, 230g (two heads, 1 medium, 1 small) broccoli, 2 bunches beetroot, 1 bunch swiss chard
Week two: 50g parsley, 100g salad loose leaf pack, 260g small carrots, 2 bunches turnips, 1 bunch beetroot
Week three: 1 bunch swiss chard, 1 bunch carrots, 1 bunch leeks, 550g (4) potatoes, 1/4 cabbage, 1 packet of rocket
Week four: 230g peas, 1 butter lettuce, 1 bunch swiss chard, 1 bunch turnips, 1 bunch beetroot, 1 bunch carrots

As you can see the selection changes every week and the items are rotated so that you don't, for example, get three weeks of turnips in a row. I thought there was a well balanced variety, with carrots, beetroot and swiss chard getting more of a look-in than the other veg. Thankfully there weren't many weeks of cabbage at all! (Not a personal favourite).

The peas, potatoes, carrots and beetroot were my favourites. Nothing beats peas picked only a few hours earlier!

The farm visit.
This is the really cool part about Community Support Agriculture schemes: you get to visit the farmer and oogle your veggies before they're harvested. Erick's farm is in Kraaifontein, next to the Bloekomsbos informal settlement where he lives. The land he farms is part of a larger farming estate where the farmer has set aside this piece of land for Erick to use. It is a pretty small area, but really productively farmed. I guess that it is the size of around 3 or 4 suburban properties.

pic: Kate Schrire, Slow Food CSAWe grow some of our own vegetables at home, so it's great to meet with other gardeners (or farmers!) to see the way they operate and pick up some tips in the process. I learnt that Erick infuses his compost/worm tea (used as a plant feed) with chillis to keep away pests. He also uses garlic to keep pests at bay. He composts in situ, placing old or damaged plant matter in water to rot down. He also leaves some of the deep-rooted "weeds" in place for them to draw up nutrients from deep below.

We also got to meet the other members of the CSA who made the pilgrimage out to the farm. It was a bonus that there was another little boy my sons age and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves running around together, pulling up carrots, munching down on peas and putting the spent carrot tops and pea pods in the compost tub.

Erick has nine cows which manure his land and also had chickens until recently when they were stolen. The chickens helped with pest control and did a good job if you didn't mind losing the odd lettuce. If you want to help Erick replace his flock (a Transkei chicken costs around R50) you can find more details here.

Erick is really enthusiastic about his farming operation and is a wonderfully humble and sharing man (he gave me some cuttings of a reed he uses as a windbreak). It was definitely a highlight of the CSA to meet him and see the success he is making of growing food for others.

So to summarise. I had a really positive experience of the CSA. The produce was good, the newsletters were interesting, the organising by Kate Schrire of Slow Food Cape Town was professional, and the farm visit was the highlight. There was also a follow up survey to get everyones feedback and suggestions.

Ideas for the future.
It would be great if the members could have some input into what they would like grown. If there is a core, stable membership and we all decided that purple podded peas are the best thing out then these favourites could be grown especially for the members. I also think the membership base probably needs to consolidate around specific collection points for the model to be viable. If the membership is too spread out geographically it is not feasible to have many collection points as this would add to the cost of transport. So with me living in Plumstead, for example, it makes sense for me to encourage my neighbours to join so there are enough in my area to warrant our own local collection point.

The next CSA
The Spring CSA will be extended for a further six weeks (beginning next week, Tues 10 Nov) and run through until mid December. If you hurry there may still be one or two spaces to fill. See www.slowfoodcsa.co.za for details or contact Kate Schrire kateschrire [at] gmail [dot] com.