The Siyakhana Initiative for Food Security and Ecological Health is a dynamic collaboration of people based at the University of the WItwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Siyakhana was initiated by Prof Michael Rudolph, Director of the Wits Public Oral Health division in the Health Promotion Unit in the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences. Siyakhana began in 2005 as a collaboration with an alliance of inner-city NGO's providing home-based care and early childhood development centres. Today, the 1-hectare Siyakhana food garden regularly provides these NGOs and ECDCs with organic fresh fruits and vegetables.
The Siyakhana Initiative operates a productive 1-hectare food permaculture food garden in Johannesburg and also engages in research, consulting, and programming in the areas of food security, nutrition, and ecological health.
One of the most critical elements in ensuring the success of Siyakhana's work is our interdisciplinary collaboration various organisations, including faculties, schools and departments from the University of the Witwatersrand, international universities, and the public and private sectors. The utilisation of an inter- and multi-disciplinary approach has enabled a variety of Wits departments and experts to contribute to improving food security and promoting health for all. Some of our key partnerships are with the following departments and organizations:
- The School of Architecture and Planning
- The School of Civil Engineering
- The School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences
- African Food Security Urban Network
- Health Empowerment Through Nutrition
- South African National Tuberculosis Association