Joburg mother and daughter eat cooked mulberry leaves to stave off starvation

A mulberry tree stands in Johanna Mukansi’s yard in Waterworks, near Lenasia, Johannesburg, ostensibly to provide the family with shade in the barren area, especially in summer.

It also provides meals for the family during the many dark days they have endured over the years.

“When we have no food, I’ve had to cook the mulberry tree leaves,” said Mukansi (53). “I cooked and we ate.”

Mukansi said she assumed the leaves were edible because the tree’s fruit is edible.

Mukansi arrived in Waterworks in 2017. She has two children, one of whom has left home. She lives with her youngest child, who is 10 years old, and goes to a nearby primary school.

They survive on a R560 Child Support grant and a R350 Social Relief of Distress grant, which amounts to R910 as their monthly income. Mukansi said she has to spend most of the money as soon as she receives it.

To supplement this meagre income, Mukansi sometimes finds piecemeal work, like washing for community members for R70.

“We manage to eat for a few days, but we are used to going to bed hungry. When we do not have food, I usually send my daughter to a neighbour who gives her food, and I stay hungry, as I am old,” said Mukansi.

Read more: Urgent call for accountability as nearly 1,000 children die from severe malnutrition in SA

The Waterworks community has no municipal water supply, and a single water truck is, according to the driver Daily Maverick spoke to on Thursday, only big enough to fill three of the community’s 5,000-litre tanks, which leaves many without water.

Community members spend many hours each day waiting for the truck to arrive.

“It is bad. The water truck fills a few tanks, and by the time it leaves to go and refill, the water it has just delivered is already finished,” said a community leader.

Mukansi has no electricity, as there is none in the area other than illegal connections. She uses a small stove for cooking, and her daughter uses a portable solar-powered light to study.

In July 2020, Daily Maverick reported on a Waterworks community member who allegedly died from starvation.

His death, during the Covid-19 pandemic, led to an outpouring of sympathy and support in the form of hundreds of food parcels, sanitary towels and face masks.

Read more: New report reveals cost-of-living crisis deepening for South Africa’s poor

Spiralling costs

In August, the Competition Commission released a report on South Africa’s cost-of-living crisis. The report covered January to May 2025.

According to the report, in the lowest income households, food and non-alcoholic beverages account for 40.71% of total expenditure, with housing and utilities consuming another 26.1%.

The Competition Commission raised concerns about the cost of water and electricity.

“Electricity and water are amongst the essentials of any household. These are administered prices insofar as they are levied by municipalities and/or state-owned enterprises. Whilst electricity prices are regulated, that regulation does not guarantee lower cost provision as it is based on operating costs and capital requirements,” the report reads.

Over the past five years, according to the report, electricity costs have risen by 68%, and water tariffs have surged by 50%, both comfortably outpacing headline inflation.

Read more: Domestic workers earn below minimum wage — rising costs leave them in the red

“There has been a noticeable shift in consumer preference towards more cost-effective food items such as canned pilchards, which has supported sustained retail demand. Maintaining the affordability of this staple product is therefore essential for food security among economically vulnerable populations,” said the report.

A TransUnion survey from 2024 found that 77% of South Africans were very concerned about the rising prices. They were cutting back on spending, looking for extra jobs, or taking on debt to survive.

Read more: SA’s cost-of-living crisis takes its toll on burdened consumers

Plea for support

Mukansi pleaded with Daily Maverick and South Africans for support for her and her daughter, who was at school on Thursday.

They live in an old, two-room shack with missing glass windows, a leaking roof and a bumpy floor.

Mukansi said they had never experienced any problems from eating the mulberry leaves.

“When cooked, it elicits the same kind of elastic behaviour like ‘igusha’ — okra,” said Mukansi.

A neighbour told Daily Maverick: “We have no idea what … to do to help. The family needs a lot more support, especially for ensuring that the 10-year-old girl continues with school.” DM