The journal

Stories from the Fruit Fight

Planting days, harvests, and the honest journey of building this thing — written as it happens.

June 2026 · Wouter Kirstein

Why I'm starting a fruit fight

Hi — I'm Wouter. African Fruit Fight started with a simple itch I couldn't shake: a fruit tree beats a handout. A food parcel feeds a family once. A mango tree feeds them every summer for forty years, shades the schoolyard, and turns surplus into pocket money at the market. Yet almost every tree project I could find planted trees for carbon, not for dinner.

So this is the bet: people will pay to put fruit trees in the ground if — and only if — they can trust it's real. That's why everything here is built on proof and honest numbers. You can see exactly where every rand goes, including the margin that keeps the project alive, because this is a social enterprise, not a charity — one person, one company, and a growing number of trees.

The first planting season is being organised now. Every tree will appear on our trees with its photo and location. If that's a fight you want to join, plant one of the first trees — or just follow along. Either way: welcome.

More stories land here after every planting day. Follow on Facebook to catch them first.