Login
Local Wild Food Launches On Good Food Network
Local Wild Food – the first ever wild and indigenous food agrihub launched on Good Food Network mid August, in a flamboyant cook up held at the genius food event space, Food Jams, introducing these forgotten indigenous ingredients to chefs and retailers.
Have you ever heard of these Cape Wild Foods?
Well now you have, and they are being grown by local small scale farmers and sold right here on GFN via the Local Wild Food agrihub!
Did you know that man evolved eating seafood, and foraging these very food species that grow naturally along the Southern African coastline? There is food all around us, edible plant species that are naturally adapted to dry, sandy, salty conditions that need little water thrive with practically no inputs.
No costly compost, fertiliser, chemicals, irrigation. No transporting around the country via warehouses and cold storage… Indigenous foods are the kindest, most sustainable, climate smart foods we could eat – yet the knowledge has been long lost as globalisation has popularised the few dozen species found in supermarkets around the world, and replaced the cultural wisdom passed down along the generations.
As GFN’s sole purpose is to create a local, ethical, organic food system – hosting the Local Wild Food agrihub on GFN as the flagship agrihub is our ultimate dream come true!
With one humble venture, jobs are being created at the farms, in the packhouse, and on the delivery side. There has been knowledge transfer and skills development – not just in the farming but in the administration and entrepreneurial activities too. Food biodiversity is being promoted and preserved, growing these foods regenerates local ecosystems, there are no toxic inputs, fair prices are being paid, farmers are earning 70% of retail value, and there is minimal environmental impact other than the labels on the compostable packaging, and the local travel miles.
How it works – all the farmers have their own online stores on Good Food Network. Every week, the farmers update their available stock on the system, and this becomes available in the Local Wild store for wholesale customers. Once the customers’ orders have been placed, the produce is delivered to Local Wild @PEDI. The produce is then packed accordingly and deliveries are scheduled (deliveries are fulfilled by GFN’s delivery partner or the agrihub’s driver).
The indigenous produce is sold exclusively to Local Wild (the brand and aggregator) from the four farmers via an exclusive Local Wild wholesale trading section on GFN – that’s why you can’t see their produce. Two of the farms, N’Rougas and Living Soils have other produce which they sell to the public in their retail section – highlighting the benefits of the GFN B2B and B2C functionality.
All ordering, payment, invoicing and deliveries are digitised and automated, freeing up 10’s of hours weekly so that our food system heroes can focus on their passion.
The agrihub is a result of the collaboration between:
- Loubie Rusch, the esteemed food activist and genius behind Local Wild who has been working to promote indigenous food species for almost a decade. She has also just published the Cape Wild Foods: A Grower’s Guide also for sale on GFN for stockists in wholesale packs of 5. Retailers wanting to sell the book are advised that the retail price is R300, and Loubie would love you to make contact. Loubie is also the creator of the delectable indigenous food range, Making Kos.
- Four local farming projects including PEDI in Philippi, Ubuhle Bendalo in Khayelitsha, Living Soils (run by the Sustainability Institute) in Stellenbosch and N’Rougas – a regenerative farm in Upington who have all collaborated with Loubie to pilot the growing and selling of these species as farmed crops.
- PEDI Agrihub who manages the administration, packing, and farm collections.
- Us here at Good Food Network, who have had the privilege of working closely with Michelle Delport of N’Rougas farm (one of the Local Wild suppliers) who after setting up her the N’Rougas store on GFN, stepped up to the plate to get Local Wild online too.
All ordering, payment, invoicing and deliveries are digitised and automated, freeing up 10’s of hours weekly so that our food system heroes can focus on their passion.
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
GOOD FOOD NETWORK
Welcome to South Africa’s organic, local, fair, ethical food directory, marketplace, and fundraising platform.
Be a food super-hero with every bite. Together we can reinvent the food system!
SECURE PAYMENT METHODS
