Cape Town - The beloved and endearingly named “Akker Brood” has returned to satisfy the cravings of the Nissenville community in Ladismith.
The Flink family business and bakery has been producing 200 loaves of bread every day after operations ceased for about seven years.
Bakery owner and manager Raymondo Flink said they are hopeful about their family bread satisfying their community again after the business suffered financial difficulty.
“We had to stop production due to a number of reasons, but it also owed to the competition in the market when more and more ‘corner’ shops started sprouting in the area. My late father, nicknamed ‘Akker’, stopped the bread production but our bakery continued baking cakes and other sweet treats,” said Flink.
“We had to stop production due to a number of reasons, but it also owed to the competition in the market when more and more ‘corner’ shops started sprouting in the area. My late father, nicknamed ‘Akker’, stopped the bread production but our bakery continued baking cakes and other sweet treats,” said Flink.
The domino effect began when 11 soup kitchens, who got their supply from the small business, stopped receiving the breads supplied to them weekly.
However, Flink said the Oasis Skills Development Programme by the Department of Social Development (DSD) approached him, asking him to bake the bread again as part of their three-month skills development programme.
“We were approached by the Department of Social Development to get the bakery to produce the breads again as part of their skills development programme. We are now able to again supply the soup kitchens in our area with the bread.
“When the production of the bread stopped, people would often say how they missed the ‘Akker Brood’, which sells for R12, because of its unique taste. It’s nice knowing we can give the community what they want again and to also once again be a part of the good work being done in our communities.
“We hope the programme will grow into something sustainable beyond just three months, but for now I am happy we can have the bread back that the community loves so much,” said Flink.
DSD spokesperson Esther Lewis said Flink Bakery is supported though the department’s Oasis Project via its sustainable livelihoods programme.
“Oasis has a local partnership with the Flink Bakery to supply bread to the local community kitchens, while at the same time providing skills training and work opportunities for beneficiaries that receive meals at the community kitchens,” said Lewis.
Cape Times