
In line: Jerry cans are lined up near the borehole at the Chitemane group’s garden
A community farm group is crying out for assistance in looking after their beautiful garden
Nordino Vicente
The Chitetemane community farm group in the Vilankulo district of Mozambique is hard at work in their communal garden, which is a thriving, vivid green. Lettuces, carrots, cabbages, spinach and onions populate the gardens in neat rows.
Each person in the 40-strong farming group, made up of mostly women, has an allotment which they care for.
The borehole at the centre is a hive of activity. Dozens of jerry cans are lined up and waiting to be filled. It is a large garden that needs to be watered constantly and there are a lot of people in the queue.
“We have to take shifts to water our plots,” says Diana Muabsa, one of the garden leaders. “We water well into the dark, sometimes to midnight.”
This is to ensure that water is distributed fairly.
It is very hard work
All the water has to be pumped by hand and then carried to the various beds in heavy watering cans. The garden has expanded so much because the group has learnt various new techniques through ForAfrika’s Community Agriculture Project (CAP) that have shown consistent rewards.
Additionally, it has been a drawcard for others also wanting the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families.
“We could expand so much more but the watering is a problem,” says Albesse Vubil, Diana’s husband.
“If we had a pump it could really help us a lot,” he says, adding that the garden has changed the lives of all involved.
Participants have been able to feed their families and sell the surplus, allowing them to buy school supplies, medicine and other household items.
“I have also sent my older ones to college to study,” he says proudly.
“The district administrator is very impressed and he buys our vegetables!”
Nordino Vicente is Manager for Inhambane Province in Mozambique