The Harvest of Hope initiative is a vegetable box scheme in Cape Town, South Africa, set up as a social enterprise by a local NGO. By promoting ecological urban farming, Abalimi Bezekhaya (meaning ‘Farmers of Home’ in Xhosa) improves income and household food security, and empowers disadvantaged households by building their confidence and capacities in farming. Building a sense of place and strengthening community ties, neither so common in South Africa’s urban areas, are keys for success of this approach.

Although quite a number of experiences with community supported agriculture (CSA) and box schemes in Europe and the United States have been documented, there are not so many examples from the South. Abalimi/Harvest of Hope is a special case even in the South, as it is a social enterprise that works with poor people in urban areas who are the producers of the vegetables.

Natural hazards, civil conflicts, wars and economic crises continue to generate unstable and unsafe conditions, placing immense pressures on communities and local livelihoods. These emergency scenarios often result in people fleeing their homes to