Top tomato: Community gardens are a source of good nutrition
A community in Upington creates their first communal vegetable garden and is already envisaging the results
Leizl Eykelhof
A community in the Khoi-San Valley of Upington has established its own communal garden in the sweltering heat and has improved their chance at food security. They are also thrilled with the skills they have learnt.
Funded by the Ackerman Foundation, the project aims to provide members of the community with the tools and skills they need to sustainably provide food for themselves.
ForAfrika’s Food Security and Livelihoods specialist Tarirai Mpofu was on hand to teach interested members of the community how to establish an “eco-garden” which will produce nutritious vegetables.
Environmentally conscious
“An eco-garden does not use any artificial fertilisers or pesticides,” says Tarira, who has been assisting various communities around the country to plant and harvest their own crops.
“We use natural compost and manure as well as other methods such as intercropping and crop rotation to support the ecosystem. We build up the soil naturally.”
Raised beds in wooden frames have been set up on a 20mx20m plot and planted with vegetable seeds and seedlings. The boxes assist with water conservation and ease of maintenance.
The variety of vegetables were chosen to best suit the environment and also the nutritional needs of the people.
“We’ll be planting spinach, beetroot, onions, eggplants and tomatoes as well as a few herbs like basil and thyme,” says Tarirai. “We also want to do carrots because they don’t need much in terms of soil. The soil quality here is not that great.”
In addition to the training, boxes and seedlings, the project provided the community with shade cloth, two 5,000l water tanks, hoses and other gardening implements.
Good participation
The initiative has been positively received, with Tarirai saying that most of the 20 participants returned on the second day: “This is a measure of interest. We are imparting skills; even the way we are digging is something new.”
Participant Ru-Ann Matthews, decked out in a straw sun-hat and bright green gardening gloves, is thrilled that she will be able to produce food for her children and those of the less fortunate.
“The reason I am doing this is that tomorrow or the next day, I will be able to give my baby of seven months some of the fruit and vegetables to eat. We will be able to give disadvantaged children a bit of soup and a piece of bread.”
Local children’s soccer coach Antonie Singer says that the training he has received is “everlasting” and can be passed down to the younger generations.
“I want to bring them [the young players] here one day and show them that you can do a lot of things if you just put your heart into it. We are grateful that ForAfrika chose us so that we can eat our own food and not buy. We don’t have jobs, we don’t eat every day because we don’t have money. This will help us to eat nutritious food. We really need it.”
The gardeners of Khoi-San Valley will be able to harvest some of their vegetables in a few months’ time, improving their food security.
“We are so grateful to the Ackerman Foundation for assisting this community,” says Adel Terblanche, Community Development Officer.
“It has been such a joy to watch the people work here, always smiling and happy to learn, even though it is 36 degrees and no shade!”
Leizl Eykelhof is Communications Manager at ForAfrika
