The Cape Flats townships northeast of Cape Town are populated by economic refugees from Ciskei and Transkei, formerly Xhosa-speaking, self-governing territories under apartheid. Officials estimate the townships’ unemployment rate at 30–40%, with 1,200 new refugees arriving every month. Formed in 1982, Abalimi Bezekhaya (“farmers or planters of the home” in Xhosa) is an organization that combats poverty in the informal settlements of Khayelitsha, Delft, Nyanga, Phillipi, and Gugulethu through a network of organic “micro-farms.” Abalimi teaches local communities to grow organic vegetables first for survival, then to sell surplus produce to markets outside of the townships, with the goal of generating a livelihood. Farmers cultivate common vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes, and Abalimi provides ongoing training, technical advice, cheap bulk inputs, irrigation, and other services.