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Support for communities building their own livelihoods

The Original Grain NPC works in poor and needy communities, applying CSI, grant and catalytic funding to the skills, inputs, expertise and market access people need to empower themselves, with a buyer signed before a project starts.

We bring funders, technical expertise, commercial partners and communities into one accountable programme: practical support from the first assessment through to a sale, not training in isolation and not production without a buyer. Grant support is designed to decline as community capability, project performance, delivery history and finance readiness grow.

Support that runs from soil to sale

01Community readinessAssessment of the land, resources and organisation available, turned into a practical plan and budget.

02Skills that stayPractical production skills, business management, record keeping and financial literacy.

03Productive workQuality inputs, coordinated procurement and hands-on technical support through the season.

04A route to marketDemand, quality, logistics and settlement agreed before planting.

05Finance progressionVerified production and repayment evidence builds a path from grant to independent finance.

06Visible impactField, financial and community outcomes tracked and reported to partners.

Skills that stay in the community

ProductionPractical agronomySoil management and fertility, crop planning, pest and disease control, yield improvement and climate-smart practice.

BusinessRunning the enterpriseBudgeting and financial management, cash-flow planning, record keeping and enterprise management.

MarketSelling with confidenceContract production, supply-chain participation, market engagement, production planning and risk management.

Work is created on the land (seasonal labour, field technicians, extension staff) and around it (transport, storage, input supply and local services), with participation by young people and women built into every project.

Three seasons, one direction

Season one: build readiness
Grant-supported. Select participants, assess the land and resources, transfer essential skills and establish the first reliable production record.
Season two: prove performance
Blended finance. Scale production, strengthen operating discipline and build a repeat record of delivery and repayment.
Season three: grow independently
Commercial finance. Proven community enterprises secure finance and repeat market access with lighter support; the NPC steps back to monitoring.

A smiling woman standing in a field of young maize

People first

Every project starts with the people in the community

A cooperative they ownMembers run it, with governance support from day one.
A plan for the seasonLand, inputs, budget and milestones agreed before planting.
A buyer already signedThe crop has a market before a seed goes in.

Mcambalala, Eastern Cape

75cooperative members

~50%women among participants

47 haplanted in the first cycle

What a project looks like: Mcambalala, Eastern Cape

A communal-land initiative near Cofimvaba, funded by Impala Platinum, coordinated by Ntshwanti Consulting and supplied by The Original Grain Company as buyer.

75members of the cooperative

47 haplanted, first cycle

~50%women among participants

350 haexpansion confirmed, starting October 2026

2,450 tmaize at full scale Projected

Specification	Detail
Funder	Impala Platinum Limited
Coordination	Ntshwanti Consulting: social facilitation, cooperative development, governance
Production support	The Original Grain Fund through the AAPP programme
Offtake	The Original Grain Company at market-related pricing
Scale	47 ha of communal land, 75 cooperative members, 10-month cycle
Results	75 stakeholders benefited from the first cycle; tonnes, income and jobs to be published after the 2026 harvest

Read the case study

Partners

Impala Platinum Limited

Ntshwanti Consulting

Dihlabeng Local Municipality

Board

Megan Wadge, Chris Mavrokordatis and Michael Smyth serve as the NPC's three directors.

Entity and status

The Original Grain NPC is a registered non-profit company, registration number 2025/266332/08. Applications for public benefit organisation and Section 18A status are in progress. Funds received by the NPC are applied to livelihood projects in poor and needy communities; they are never invested in The Original Grain Fund.

What funders get

A buyer before plantingThe offtake is signed first, so the crop has a market from day one.

Scorecard alignmentProgrammes can support Socio-Economic Development and Enterprise and Supplier Development; qualifying training may also support Skills Development, subject to the funder's B-BBEE code and verification.

Measured outputsHectares, tonnes, household income and jobs, each season.

Visits and reportsTwo site visits and three reports through the season.

How funding flows

Four steps, with governance gates between them, so a donation is ring-fenced from the day it arrives to the day the impact is reported.

1SponsorA donation with a defined mandate: the region, the budget and the outcomes you report on.Funder

2The NPCFunds held in a ring-fenced account and released against agreed milestones.The Original Grain NPC

3DeliveryContracted field execution on community land, with the buyer signed before planting.Company / community

4EvidenceFinancial, field and impact reporting through the season and after harvest.All parties

Governance gates: approved participant criteria · conflict controls · restricted budget · milestone release · independent oversight. Section 18A receipts can only be issued once SARS approval is granted; the NPC's application is in progress.

On the ground through the season

21 days on siteThe team lives with the community through planting.

Twice a monthSite visits for the three months of early growth and crop management.

Monthly to harvestA visit each month until the crop is ready.

On site for harvestThe team returns to oversee harvest, grading and delivery to the buyer.

What we measure

Outcomes a board can report on, tracked against a baseline at the start of each project.

01Household resilienceNet household income, food security and stable seasonal work.

02Finance progressionCommunities moving from grant support to blended and commercial finance.

03Inclusive opportunityJobs for young people; women in leadership and in control of enterprise income.

04Climate resilienceSoil health, water efficiency, responsible inputs and stable yields.

05Local multiplierProcurement, service spend and wages retained in the local economy.

06Transparent performanceAuditable financial, field, delivery and impact evidence.

How to fund a project

Four stages from first call to harvest. The buyer is signed before a seed goes in, so the money you commit is tied to a crop with a market.

1 hour

Scoping call

We establish fit before anyone writes a document.

You leave withA yes or no on fit, within a week

2 to 3 weeks

Proposal

A costed plan on named land, for one to three seasons.

You leave withA proposal and budget your board can approve

1 to 2 weeks

Agreement

Funding, offtake and reporting signed together.

You leave withA start date and a named project lead

10 months

The season

Planting to harvest to payment, with three reports along the way.

You leave withA harvest sold, income paid, an impact report

Stage	Scoping call	Proposal	Agreement	The season
You bring	Region, budget range, the outcomes you report on	Board timelines and reporting format	Signatories and funding tranche dates	Two site visits, at planting and harvest
We bring	Communities and land we already know, indicative hectares per rand	Land assessment, cooperative plan, budget per hectare, expected tonnes, offtake terms	Funding agreement, offtake, season plan, reporting calendar, cooperative set-up	Agronomy, inputs, field data, reports at planting, mid-season and harvest

Book a scoping call

Or send the region and budget range in the form below and we come back within two working days.

Request a project proposal

Common questions

What does the NPC do?

It raises and applies CSI, grant and catalytic funding in poor and needy communities, supporting people who are working to empower themselves through structured, productive projects with a guaranteed buyer.

Which communities qualify?

Poor and needy communities with access to land, organised into a cooperative or able to form one.

How is a project funded and who owns the crop?

The funder pays for inputs and support through the NPC; the cooperative owns the crop and sells it to The Original Grain Company under the offtake agreement.

Does funding count toward B-BBEE?

Programmes can support Socio-Economic Development and Enterprise and Supplier Development objectives, and qualifying training components may be structured to support Skills Development, subject to the funder's applicable B-BBEE code and verification requirements.

How do you measure results?

Hectares planted, tonnes harvested, yield per hectare, household income paid, jobs created and cooperative governance milestones, reported each season.

Can you run a project in our operating area?

If there is land, a community ready to organise and a road to market, yes. Start with a scoping call.

Fund a community project with the buyer already signed

Scoping call, proposal, season plan. Enquiries go to The Original Grain NPC.

Reply within two working days, from a person, not a bot
Priced off SAFEX, delivered to your site or the border
One counterparty from farm to delivery

Prefer email? info@theoriginalgraincompany.co.za