Farm Project Report 2024
Partners
Marvin Carolina Jr.,
Assistant Teaching Professor, 91制片厂 Kansas City
Lisle Svenson,
Professor & Coordinator of the Small Business Clinic, University of Western Cape
Introduction
The Middelpos Farm, located in Malmesbury, South Africa, is a comprehensive community development initiative led by Inspire Children and Youth (ICY). This project addresses historical injustices related to land ownership and agriculture in South Africa while focusing on community empowerment, education, and sustainable development with focus on women and children.
As part of the project's development and research, a visit to Kansas City was organized in March 2024 to explore similar initiatives and gather insights. This visit focused on programs and institutions that work with women and children, aligning with the Middelpos Farm Project's core objectives.
The Middelpos Farm is transforming a traditional farm setting into a multifunctional community center, integrating agriculture, education, skills training, and business development. The project team's visit to Kansas City served as a research and learning opportunity, exploring various institutions and programs that support women and children in underprivileged areas. This visit provided for future collaborations and initiatives in Cape Town, South Africa.
Project Goals
The farm project aimed to build a business sustainable ecosystem with a focus on
addressing historical inequalities while promoting education, empowerment, and economic development among women and children of color. The project aimed to achieve the
following goals:
- Achieve a 10-year vision for Middelpos Farm by 2034: Transform the farm into a thriving, multifunctional center that serves the community and promotes sustainable development.
- Cross-cultural learning/exchange: Marvin Carolina Jr. to visit the farm, Inspire Children and Youth Team to visit the United States to explore similar initiatives and gather insights. Project Team to present the farm 10-year vision (business development plan).
About Project Team
Inspire Children and Youth (ICY) works on Middelpos in Riebeeksrivier, Malmesbury. The organization nurtures dreams, inspires rural people to achieve, and creates safe spaces for children and young people to thrive. ICY provides food, shelter, toilets and a range of activities/projects to help restore human dignity on rural farms; but we couldn鈥檛 do this without your help. ICY implements the following programmes:
- Women's Programme
The Women鈥檚 programme o铿ers a range of sub-programmes personal development, health awareness, entrepreneurship, and skills training (Basic farming, Agro-processing, Sewing, Design & Creation, Jewellery). - Children's Programme
Similar to the Women鈥檚 programme, the children's programmes provide children with educational Support (homework support, computer access, supply of basic resources), Kids Judo, Youth Leadership, School Holiday Programmes, Life Skills Programme, Feeding Programme and Auntie Judith's Food Garden Project.
Lisle Svenson, Lecturer & Coordinator of the Small Business Clinic, University of the Western Cape, is a lecturer in Management, specializing in Strategic, Project Management and Entrepreneurship, with over 12 years of teaching and 12 years of consulting experience at PwC, IBM, and Ngubane & Co. Before joining UWC, she was Operations Director at Developmentnomics. As a member of several professional organizations, she has cross-industry experience and leads initiatives supporting SMME and social enterprise. Her research focuses on entrepreneurship, economic development, and the empowerment of marginalized communities.
Marvin Carolina Jr., Assistant Teaching Professor, 91制片厂 Kansas City
(UMKC), has experience working with MBA fulltime working students at the 91制片厂 Kansas City where he coached them as they navigate their corporate life, family life and being an MBA student. He has experience as an advisor at the Bloch Consulting Lab, which was created in 2022 by the Bloch Business School at UMKC using students as business consultants helping small disadvantaged businesses. Professor Carolina Jr. also coaches and consults with small businesses across the United States, and now in South Africa as well.
Project Business Development Plan
Our 10-year vision aimed to transform Middelpos Farm into a thriving business ecosystem by 2034, integrating all aspects of our development plan to create a sustainable,
community-oriented hub that addresses historical inequalities while promoting education, empowerment, and economic development in South Africa.
Our vision for Middelpos Farm Center encompasses six key areas:
- Farming (Agriculture)
- Farmers Market (Community)
- Business Center (Professional)
- Tourism (Travel & Adventure)
- Educational Center (Knowledge /Learning Hub)
- Kids Judo Academy (Fitness & Sport)
Kansas City Visit Outcome
The Kansas City visit yielded important insights:
- Visited Operation Breakthrough, a child development center for underprivileged children in KC, gaining insights into e铿ective child support programs.
- Explored the KIPP K-12 School system, a charter school in underprivileged areas, for potential educational models.
- Visited the Kansas City women crisis center and UMKC women center, learning about support systems for women in crisis and educational settings.
- Conducted a presentation for the Dean of Bloch Business school and Faculty, sta铿, and students, sharing information about the Middelpos Farm Project and discussing potential business ecosystem creation. Read the full presentation here.
Project Challenges
The Middelpos Farm project faced some setbacks. During the trip, we received unfortunate news that there were break-ins at the farm, cutting the trip short. The Middelpos Farm
team is currently working on 铿乶ding alternative locations for families, indicating ongoing security and housing challenges. The team is exploring other locations for expansion, recognizing that some families might not want to stay on the farm land.
Future Direction
As a result of the several break-ins at the Middelpos Farm, we had to close out this project. However, it laid the foundation for Marvin Carolina Jr. to visit the University of the Western Cape (UWC) Small Business Clinic resulting in work with youth businesses, conducting
business coaching workshop, and one-on-one meetings, adding to ongoing collaborations and knowledge sharing. Read more about Marvin鈥檚 time in South Africa here.
Marvin Carolina Jr. with youth small business owners in Cape Town, South Africa at the UWC Small Business Clinic.
Conclusion
With the Farm project closed out, Marvin Carolina Jr. with collaborators colleague Dr Jocelyn Evans along with UWC鈥檚 Prof Lisle Svenson, Abaham Oliver, and Ms Babongile Bidla will be implementing the Business Coaching Program in 2025. The Program Team was awarded a partial funding as part of the UMSAEP award. The grant award will be used to implement a collaborative initiative aimed at addressing the critical challenges faced by small businesses in South Africa. The program is designed to be scalable and replicable, ensuring long-term sustainability and broader impact. By empowering young entrepreneurs in Cape Town, the Business Coaching Program aims to create a resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem that
contributes to economic development and job creation. This grant marks a signi铿乧ant milestone for the project and its objectives. The funding will be utilized to implement a collaborative initiative speci铿乧ally designed to address the critical challenges faced by youth-owned small businesses in South Africa.
Reviewed 2025-10-21