‘Mhani Gingi’, in Shangaan, literally means an industrious woman who finds innovative and creative solutions to social challenges.

Mhani Gingi Social Entrepreneurial Network is a non-profit organisation based in Cape Town, South Africa, which is committed to finding integrated and holistic solutions to alleviate chronic poverty and hunger in global society. Our efforts are aligned with the United Nations Millennium Development Goal, the Sustainable Development Goals and the South African National Development Plan guidelines.

Mhani Gingi empowers vulnerable groups in the community create sustainable livelihoods for themselves. This is achieved through urban agriculture, community food gardening and social enterprise solutions which provide skills training and income generation for our beneficiaries, as well as food for consumption. Mhani Gingi encourages people to become creators of wealth, rather than mere consumers of goods and services and suppliers of labour to others.  In this way, our solutions provide self-sustaining solutions for people to support themselves, their families and their communities.

We are proud of our creative solutions to include differently abled people in urban agriculture. These innovations which are showcased at our Centre of Social Entrepreneurial Excellence include vertical gardens and pathways for gardeners in wheelchairs as well as container gardens made from recycled materials.

Mhani Gingi works with 25 differently-abled adults from Uitsig Community in Ravensmead, who maintain two community food gardens and share the produce with other residents in the area. We undertake gardening with blind adults in Langa and train youth in gardening skills at a school for Learners with Special Needs in Retreat. This is to equip them with a means of earning an income when they leave school.

Mhani Gingi innovatively identifies open spaces at churches, correctional facilities, civic amenities, creches, and shelters for women, where community food gardens can be established. We train members of from the community in organic production and food processing. The cultivation of vegetables and herbs on the sites then becomes a source of income generation and food security for the people who work in them, their families, and surrounding communities.

Mhani Gingi provides ongoing support in the form of compost and seedlings. Our 5-Step Philosophy ensures that viable gardens are established with adequate water supply. The Mhani Gingi Organic Herb and Vegetable Seedling Nursery provides markets for the sale of excess produce to ensure livelihoods for the gardeners.

Mhani Gingi’s holistic and integrated approach means that we target the whole person. Our programmes therefore promote healthy nutrition and lifestyles as well as fostering economic sustainability and social well-being in communities. Our community soup kitchens which serve nutritious meals in vulnerable communities through the Mhani Gingi Community Satellite Food Station help to fulfill this objective. The soup stations are supplied by produce from the community food gardens.

During the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa in 2020, five food kitchens managed by Mhani Gingi in Athlone/Manenberg, Uitsig/Ravensmead and Retreat areas of the metropole played a pivotal role in bringing food security to hungry people. These soup stations served hundreds of meals twice-weekly to communities who were impacted by the loss of jobs as well as the closure of schools where their children received a daily meal.

Mhani Gingi believes firmly in empowering women and youth to become owners of their own businesses to gain economic sustainability and support their families. The women of the Mhani Gingi network are involved in a diverse range of enterprises such as sewing, beading, embroidery, jewellery-making, pottery, tourism, gardening, home-based care and permaculture. We organise markets where the women can sell their wares as well as providing linkages to networks and opportunities which will strengthen the emerging businesses.

The ‘Restoring Dignity’ Liquid Soap-Producing Enterprise established with the assistance of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands empowers women survivors of gender-based violence with soap-making skills so that they can gain financial independence and rebuild their lives. Mhani Gingi facilitates workshops and linkages to technical expertise to ensure the production of quality products and the success of the enterprises.

We follow an Inside/Outside approach that ensures our continued impact on surrounding communities, so extending our Circle of Influence.

Our vision is to become a world leader in providing sustainable solutions that combat chronic hunger and poverty in local communities and at a global level, in alignment with the South African National Development Plan guidelines, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The methodology is based on two models. The Mhani Gingi training model includes ongoing practical implementation in agricultural projects and the emerging businesses of our beneficiaries, while continuous monitoring and evaluation ensures successful skills transfer. In this way we ensure the empowerment of individual beneficiaries and their enterprises from survivalist mode to sustainability and profitability.

Our objective is to empower individuals to create sustainable livelihoods for themselves and thereby to build human and social capital.