Out in the Field: Project Biome in Mpumalanga (Zingela Ulwazi Trust)
This article was originally published on Project Biome's LinkedIn on July 8, 2025.
Last week, we had the immense privilege of visiting our partners and stakeholders in Mpumalanga for a series of collaborative engagements around the projects we support on the ground. It was an honor to witness the extraordinary work, passion, and enthusiasm of like-spirited individuals and communities, with the breathtaking nature of the lowveld as our North Star. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing an overview of the partners we reconnected with, and some of the dynamic outcomes from our design sessions and exchanges.
Our first stop was Zingela Ulwazi Trust (ZU) in Acornhoek. Thursday unfolded as a day of joyful learning, insightful dialogue, and full-throated laughter. Led by the inimitable TryGive Nxumalo, Director of Permaculture and Community Development, we sang and danced our way into the sacred pink sanctuary that is the Centre for Women’s Independence (CWI), nestled among green gardens bravely weathering the brittle lowveld winter.
Try, as he is affectionately called, is not only a dedicated teacher and knowledgeable permaculture enthusiast, but also the owner of the most impressive bass voice in the region—if not the country! His booming tone gave shape and rhythm to our discussions as we explored our respective systems and workplace cultures, emphasised the importance of indigenous plants, medicine, and foods, and mapped out ways to scale ZU’s offerings.
We were inspired by the voices of the ZU dream team, like Lilian Marule, Manager at the CWI and 10 Trees Coordinator, who gave a touching personal account of the project’s impact on her life. Joel Sithole, resident Tree Expert and Head of the African Indigenous Academy, shared his passion for intergenerational knowledge-sharing around indigenous plants, stories, and culture. Becky Harmon, Special Projects Coordinator, outlined the humble genealogy of ZU’s journey. Suzan Mashego, Community Liaison, prepared an impressive lunch spread (special mention to the delicious side of morogo, a leafy spinach dish that's a South African favorite). And Quentan Marule, Founder and Coach of the self-defence program Sekwanele, who spoke passionately about the need for women to protect themselves in the face of gender-based violence. Quietly documenting it all with grace and finesse was Lunga Nkwinika, Sekwanele Coordinator and visual storyteller.
We were thrilled to hear about recent developments within the 10 Trees program, which has now expanded to 50 households—taking their total number of households to 203. Not only does this growth affirm the power of permaculture to transform the lives of the women who form the bedrock of Orpen Gate, but it also shows how naturally it can take root in communities living under economic duress.
Like many historically dispossessed areas in South Africa, Orpen Gate has long suffered from wilful neglect in the face of deepening poverty, unemployment, inequality, and gender-based violence. Yet the CWI has stood as a beacon of light through some of the darkest chapters in the community’s history.
As we listened to Try, Lilian, Joel, Quentan and others share remarkable stories of planting hope one tree, one song, one self-defence class at a time, we were struck by how the love, care, and respect within the ZU team have rippled through Orpen Gate. In just a few years, they have cultivated a team culture that has shifted relational bonds within the community, fostering trust and warmth despite the adversity its residents face.
This was especially evident during our visits to the homes of former and current Tree Mentors and Permaculture Explorers like Winnie Shongwe and Ous’ Delinah, whose abundant home gardens not only nourish their families but serve as a lifeline to neighbors and friends. Thanks to ZU’s support, small fruit and vegetable businesses have emerged, meeting the growing demand for healthy and organic food, and reconnecting the community with ancestral food systems that endured for generations before industrialization took hold.
As we departed Acornhoek, we sat in gratitude for the chance to convene with true co-collaborators in consciousness. In our mission to nurture interdependence with Nature and transform it into a thriving movement, we can sometimes lose sight of prioritizing joy, laughter, and kinship in our work. This visit to ZU reminded us of the importance of staying in sync with the rhythm of our strategies, and of being in community with one another. We left CWI with full hearts and full bellies (another special mention goes to Lilian's fresh batch of scones we had for tea), grateful to have been hosted with such grace, and to be working alongside people whose love for humanity sits at the heart of everything they do.
