Orakwedachab NPC KhoiKhoi Quail Farming

Across the Western Cape, many KhoiKhoi communities — from townships on the Cape Flats to ancestral and historical tribal lands — are battling severe economic pressure. Skyrocketing food and electricity costs, combined with persistently high unemployment, have made daily survival incredibly difficult. While the broader provincial unemployment rate stands at around 18%, in these specific communities it often reaches 40–50%, leaving many families with virtually no formal jobs and few pathways to stable income.

Food insecurity stands out as one of the most pressing daily struggles. Many families live below or near the food poverty line (around R796 per person per month for basic food needs as of 2024), forcing difficult choices between food, transport, rent, and other essentials. Fresh, nutritious produce is often unaffordable or inaccessible, leading to diets heavy in cheap, processed foods and rising risks of malnutrition, especially among children and the elderly. Many households live on very low monthly incomes — frequently from state grants to below R3,500, and in numerous...