JOHANNESBURG, Dec 8: At the Westonaria agricultural park, located near Bekkersdal to the east of Johannesburg, farm workers are actively engaged in tilling the soil to plant tomatoes and lettuce. Despite the bustling activity, the park is enveloped in silence.
Most individuals here are deaf, relying on sign language for communication.
They form part of the Voiceout Deaf farming collective, established by entrepreneur Matebogo Victoria to provide a platform for deaf individuals to hone their agricultural skills and secure sustainable employment.
Having a hearing disability herself, Victoria deeply understands the obstacles faced by deaf individuals when competing for opportunities against their hearing peers.
While pursuing her studies at Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, Victoria was required to attend lectures alongside a hearing partner due to the lack of accessibility in the university’s teaching methods.
This struggle is a common experience for many deaf individuals, according to Victoria.
“The government lacks facilities for communication for deaf people. Many deaf individuals do not complete their education. Transportation costs often prevent them from attending schools, so they tend to drop out early,” shared Victoria.
In South Africa, there are 44 schools for the deaf that offer sign language as a subject and utilize it as a medium of instruction.
However, many are located far from where students reside, sometimes leading to dropouts as families cannot afford travel expenses.
Having previously worked at Standard Bank, Victoria decided to leave her corporate role to establish Voiceout, enabling deaf individuals to acquire skills in agriculture.
“I simplify things for them. It feels like a family here. They are genuinely happy when they are in this environment, but life becomes challenging for them outside of it,” she stated.
Sibongile Maake, one of the workers, expressed that learning agriculture in an environment where colleagues communicate in sign language has been life-changing for her.
It has also allowed her to earn a living and reduce her reliance on government-issued disability grants.
“I’m content working here; it’s a joy to be on the farm. I’m progressing at my own pace while earning a salary. I can support myself,” Maake shared.
Another worker, known by the name John in sign language, mentioned that communication challenges hindered his job prospects, but the Voiceout Deaf project became a vital resource for him.
“Communication is always a barrier, so working here on the farm makes a significant difference because I can converse in my own language, which greatly eases my life,” John said.
He and his colleagues carry out various tasks at the farm, including cleaning, ploughing, planting, and harvesting. The demand for their vegetables has grown so much that Voiceout Deaf has expanded to two additional farms, where John and his team now also work.
The initiative is breaking even: the farms currently supply fresh produce to several local supermarkets and chain stores.
In provinces such as Limpopo and North West, local governments are recognizing farming as a source of training and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
The farming sector has emerged as a refuge for those with disabilities, particularly amid the significant unemployment challenges prevalent in South Africa, the continent’s most developed economy.
As she supervises and gives instructions throughout the farm, which contains 10 greenhouses, Victoria expresses her concerns about the prevalent difficulties for sign language users in grasping the nuances of industry-specific terminology.
The Pan South African Language Board is tasked with establishing the standards for sign language in the country. This constitutionally mandated body promotes the development and use of South African languages and recently achieved a milestone by gaining Parliament’s approval for sign language to be recognized as South Africa’s 12th official language.
Despite this success, the board often struggles to keep pace with rapidly evolving terminology in various sectors, according to Victoria.
“The challenge is that sign language has not yet developed sufficiently to encompass the technical jargon seen in different fields. This is also true in agriculture. There are certain technical terms present in spoken language that lack equivalents in sign language,” she explained.
Beyond altering official perspectives, Victoria aspires to encourage change among the farmers themselves.
“We need these deaf farmers to adopt innovative thinking about agriculture. They must be empowered to recognize that agriculture contributes to the production of various products like toothpaste, perfumes, and medicines. We need to adapt and find ways to communicate these concepts in the simplest manner possible,” Victoria concluded. (AP)
