1. I
t’s not every day that a kitchen
experiment turns into a community-
empowering initiative. Leeko Makoene
numbed her tongue and survived two
ulcers to discover an authentic fiery
taste named Chilladido.
With the brand’s co-owner Portia
Mmabatho Morudi, she is bent on giving back
to the communities they grew up in, with a
‘Made With Rural’ concept showcasing their
authentic offerings.
While most of their peers have migrated to
urban areas, the duo returned to invest in rural
South Africa.
“It doesn’t make sense that rural
communities who have rich arable land [at their
disposal] still experience abject poverty and
huge rates of unemployment,” says Makoene.
Chilladiddo is a food manufacturing
company that produces chilli sauces,
relishes, honey and other food products. The
ingredients are sourced from Makapanstad
village, processed in Lanseria, Johannesburg,
and then sold at food shows, markets and a few
Spars outlets in the city.
To make their business viable, the duo
sought a partnership with the PEACE
Foundation to set up structures to make the
projects sustainable. The foundation provided
the necessary skills, resources and know-how
in the communities.
The duo’s iLawu Honey project driven by
the rural village of Winterveld is a showcase of
innovation; the bee-hives are located in citrus
farms managed by co-operatives in the area. The
hives help with the pollination, and the honey
produced is sold at food shows and markets.
This was Morudi’s brainchild, and for this,
she was selected an emerging change-maker in
South Africa by Spark International and invited
by Virgin Unite and the Richard Branson group
to speak at an event in London in 2014.
“Year after year, government ploughs money
into projects and co-operatives operated
in rural areas, only to see them fail and out
of business a year later, simply because it is
hard for them to crack the retail space, and
secure sustainable markets,” offers Makoene.
As an entrepreneur, she found a solution to
this issue. They partnered with like-minded
small business owners, who are looking to raw
materials and other things to keep activity in
the rural supply market chain.
Makoene maintains that the youth
misunderstand rural development.
“Agriculture is food. The whole chain of
taking food from the soil, all the way to the
shelf and the plate is what agriculture is
about. There is a broad and exciting future in
agriculture. African youth can create a legacy
for themselves and their communities.”
In June 2015, the pair will host a
mentorship walk in rural Makapanstad,
where professionals, government officials and
business owners will motivate and encourage
the youth to pursue their dreams.
Plans are also underway to source funding
to convert an inactive school facility in one
of the villages into a processing plant for
manufacturing Chilladiddo products.
Already awarded grant money from SAB
Kickstart and The Hope Factory to help
move the business forward, the Chilladiddo
duo are set to launch a franchise food outlet
and host a big festival to showcase all that
Makapanstad has to offer.
“I am more fulfilled and rich doing the
work that I do for rural development. I get
pure joy on a tractor, than in a Porsche. Life
has humbled me, and shown me what it is that
matters the most, and from there, I have started
receiving material riches,” says Makoene.
The chilli sauces and the fire in their bellies
are enough to keep them going. FW
From The Soil
To The Shelves
The spicy Chilladiddo sauces are
made in rural South Africa by two
feisty young entrepreneurs who
run an agro-business and find more
joy on a tractor than in a Porsche.
Words Thando Matutu
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APRIL / MAY 2015 FORBESWOMANAFRICA | 91