The Just Transition in the Food System group has drafted a submission for the SA Human Rights Commission Inquiry on Food Systems. The submission includes inputs from many different members of our group which include TCOE and RWA, and some additional inputs from our networks, on how to address the food crisis and realise the right to food.  If you’d like to support the submission, please use this form. SAHRC JTFS group submission

Iworkshop yoNkqubo yeNkqubo yeZityalo zokutya kunye noTshintsho lwemozulu iqinisa iNtshukumo yeNtlalo Ukusayina kukaMongameli Cyril Ramaphosa uMthetho woTshintsho lwemozulu ngo 2024 kwaphawula inguqu enkulu kwindlela iMzantsi Afrika ejongana ngayo neentlekele ezinxulumene nemozulu. Izikhukula eKwaZulu-Natal, imbalela ende eMpuma naseNtshona Koloni, kunye nobushushu obugqithisileyo ngaphakathi kwelizwe ziye zaphinda zatshabalalisa uluntu, zandisa ukungabikho kokutya, kwaye zatyhila ubuthathaka…

Oor drie dae, van 29–31 Oktober, het dertig deelnemers uit TCOE se gemeenskapbasis in Suurbraak bymekaargekom vir ’n Agro-ekologie (AE) werkswinkel wat teorie, praktyk en gemeenskapsleer verweef het. Onder leiding van Reinette Heunis en Edmore Parichi was die doel van die werkswinkel om begrip van agro-ekologiese beginsels, klimaatsveerkragtigheid en volhoubare voedselproduksie te verdiep, terwyl deelnemers toegerus is met praktiese vaardighede om terug te neem na hul gemeenskappe. Die sessies…

“Access to clean drinking tap water and access to land with water for production” is a long-standing campaign for the Inyanda National Land movement. Since 2021, the Inyanda National Land Movement devoted its energies and resources in the fight for water justices. The Inyanda National Land Movement has been cooperating closely with the Movement Building Stream of the Trust for Community Outreach and Education to raise awareness on the national water crisis through organizing speak-out sessions…

Just Transition in the Food System  Dear partners, TCOE, along with partner organisations, are compiling a joint submission, as the Just Transition in the Food System group, to the SA Human Rights Commission’s Inquiry into the South African food system and violations of the right to food. For more on the Inquiry, see concept note below. We have different people and organisations collecting submissions on each theme, so if you are keen to make a submission, please send it to the relevant…

In November last year, The Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE) joined more than 90 participants from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe at the first IPA-Global Convening on Participatory Action Research (PAR) for Agroecology and Climate Advocacy. Held from November 17 to 21, this landmark gathering brought together social movements, farmer networks, researchers, and advocates to deepen collective learning and strengthen global solidarity for climate-resilient food systems. …

Publication: International Viewpoint – online socialist magazine Publication Date: Friday, 29 August 2025  Authors:  Mercia Andrews is Director of the Trust for Community Outreach and Education.  Fani Ncapayi is a senior researcher and scholar for TCOE (Trust for Community Outreach and Education).

22 January 2026 Extensive flooding in Limpopo and Mpumalanga over the past two weeks has claimed 38 lives, including children as young as two. The South African Weather Service has escalated its warning to Level 10, the highest alert for extreme flood risk, and the disaster has been officially declared a national emergency. Climate change is intensifying rainfall in South Africa, making floods more frequent and destructive. A 2025 study by Wits University found that the Durban floods of 2022…

By Dr Bradwill Joewindean Jansen A new study into pesticide exposure at rural schools has revealed alarming environmental health risks facing children in farm schools, highlighting systemic neglect in South Africa’s agricultural regions. In September 2025, the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU) and the Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE) launched a joint water testing campaign in response to escalating reports from educators and community…

The December edition of Inyanda Community News shines a light on rural realities and inspiring collective action across South Africa and beyond. Featured articles include:  Rural Schoolchildren at Risk A new study reveals that farm schools face a dual crisis: pesticide drift and unsafe water. With 14 out of 18 schools located near spraying zones, children are exposed to toxic chemicals during lessons. Water testing showed that more than half of schools had contaminated supplies, leading to…

Why Hunger Must Be Named: A Call to Action Ahead of the G20 in Johannesburg By The Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE) As South Africa hosts the G20 Summit in Johannesburg this week, the Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE), alongside small-scale farmers, fishers, and rural communities, will be present to ensure that rural voices are not sidelined in conversations that shape global priorities. When the world’s most powerful economies gather to discuss finance,…

The Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE) notes with concern the silence on land reform and rural development in the 2025 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), tabled on 12 November. While the budget speech emphasises fiscal discipline and household relief, it fails to confront the structural drivers of hunger and poverty, particularly in rural and peri-urban communities. In fact, as highlighted by AIDC (Alternative Information and Development Centre), “this budget is…

Grab your latest copy if the Inyanda Community News. Read about the the Rural Women’s Assembly’s World Food Day campaign calling for an end to hunger and malnutrition, TCOE’s call for urgent climate resilience measures in response to a severe hailstorm in the Mgwali area in the Eastern Cape. We also interrogate the struggle for water amid governance failure in the Sakhisizwe Municipal area, and how the Rural Legal Centre are helping communities fight evictions and more.  Download Inyanda…

      18 July 2025 We, the Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE), the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU), the Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) and the Inyanda National Land Movement (INLM) express steadfast unity with the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) and all civil society groups dedicated to maintaining the constitutional rights of everyone in South Africa, irrespective of nationality or documentation. Over the past…

Yet another tropical cyclone has hit Southern Africa in recent weeks. Cyclone Chido has caused major destruction in the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, parts of the Comoros islands and in northern Mozambique and southern Cyclone Chido followed cyclones Kenethe (2018) and Iday (2019), compounding the damages already inflicted on impoverished nations and vulnerable peoples in our neighbouring countries such as Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe: destruction of infrastructure, housing,…

Statement by the Trust for Community Outreach and Education and Inyanda National Land Movement 5 February 2025 This statement reflects the views of the Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE) and thousands of South Africans involved in the movements the TCOE works with. The TCOE is a non-governmental organisation that works with the Inyanda National Land Movement, a land movement that includes mostly landless people in rural areas in five provinces (under traditional authorities in…

4 Dec 2024 on FMR101.3

The Guardians of Seed, Land, and Life exhibition, held at the historic Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town from 8 to 16 November 2024, was a powerful showcase of women’s vital role in food sovereignty, seed preservation, and sustainable farming practices. The exhibition was launched by the Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE) and the Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA), two organisations dedicated to empowering rural communities and promoting indigenous agro-ecological practices. Their…

Radio 786 – 100.4fm · Guardians of Seed, Land and Life | Radio 786   The Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE) and the Rural Women’s Assembly prior launching the opening of the exhibition “Guardians of Seed, Land, and Life” at the historic Castle of Good Hope which was on display between November 8 up until November 16, 2024 invited 4 guests into studio for the ‘Review of the Arts’ segment on Radio 786. This impactful exhibition highlights the vital role of women as seed…

Empowering Smallholder Farmers Through Agroecology

On the 11th of November, during the Guardians of Seed, Land and Life Exhibition, women across Africa gathered to voice their concerns over seed policy and its impact on our land, water, and food systems. The Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE) and the Southern Africa Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) hosted a powerful workshop at the Koena Art Institute – Castle of Good Hope. This gathering focused on advocacy efforts to protect our vital resources through agroecology, ensuring a…

Genadendal, Western Cape – The vibrant Day of Organic Trade and Celebration, held at the historic Werf in Genadendal on October 26, 2024, successfully followed up on the impactful World Food Day webinar that took place on 16 October 2024. Organised by the Rural Women’s Assembly and The Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE), the event celebrated the crucial role of rural women and small-scale farmers in advancing sustainable food systems and food sovereignty.   [LEFT: Poster…

Clarence Ford speaks to Norah Mlongobozi seed saver and Elsie Sauls Seed saver.

[RIGHT Mawubuye Meeting 2023 The process of facilitating the building of a vibrant voice of the rural and urban impoverished and underdeveloped by TCOE was as a result of thought through processes and thorough contextual analysis and learning from other practises and from own experiences. Core to this strategy was enabling the affected poor to realise their plight, champion and lead their struggles. This approach also involves building from below, different sectors that includes,…

The Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE), the Rural Women’s Assembly in South Africa together with the Mopani Farmers Association in Limpopo, are deeply disturbed by reports of serious land rights violations of smallholder producers in some areas in Limpopo. During a visit in April 2024, we met with affected smallholders who had either been evicted or were in the process of being evicted from their land in the Greater Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality.   [LEFT] Mohale…