Urban Agriculture

Objectives

• train and educate community members in gardening techniques and problem solving skills for sustainable living

Urban Agriculture Sustainability Plan

We assited in the setting up of garden committees with their own constitutions in the Guguletu, Nyanga and Khayelitsha gardens. We started with the sustinability plans in order for the gardens to become independent of QPC. A series of workshops was offered to the committees in Guguletu, Nyanga, Khayelitsha and Philippi which involved the cultivation of seedlings and food preservation, ensuring the sustainability of the gardens. Four mediators from each Urban Agriculture garden centre attended a mediation training graduation in Khayelitsha to support mediators who graduated from the course.

Urban Agriculture Guguletu

The gardeners of the Guguletu centre have been proactive in harvesting and selling produce to community members; clearing and mulching plots and collecting garbage; ordering seedlings and manure and holding meetings to discuss preparations for planting. Furthermore, a water pump was fixed, a compost heap built with grass cuttings delivered by the City Council, and preparations were made for planting at the Vuyani clinic. Gardeners collected vegetable waste from the Guguletu mini-markets to augment their compost heaps.

Meetings were held to evaluate the work of the project and to share information with those who didn't attend the external workshops. Meetings were also held to discuss the sustainability plan and the skills needed to run the garden independently of QPC. The Department of Agriculture assisted the gardeners by fencing the garden with razor wire. Furthermore, the Department has undertaken to assist the gardeners by the provision of a borehole at a future date.

Urban Agriculture Khayelitsha

The Khayelitsha gardeners worked on similar tasks, but decided also that they wanted to be trained in mediation skills, and then a mediation service would be established and the gardens transformed into a development centre. Strategies to generate more money for the gardens were developed. Meetings were held with gardeners from a number of schools to share the learnings and challenges of our work environments. Gardeners harvested their crops - what they didn't use to feed their families was sold within the community.

Meetings were also held to discuss issues such as participation and the role the gardeners' children can play. Two gardeners of our gardens participated in permaculture workshops and the importance of self-reliance and community responsibility offered by the Environmental Justice Network Forum (EJNF). Participants were encouraged to make use of local resources before looking further afield. An event was attended in the Muizenberg Hall at the invitation of the Minister of Agriculture who shared the work and support the Department gives to community initiatives.

Urban Agriculture Nyanga

The Nyanga gardeners also prepared, planted, harvested and sold surplus produce to the community. A Canadian volunteer introduced training in Herb Usage, Exercise, Affirmation and Reflexology. Due to the show of interest, regular classes are held on reflexology massage, and have been received with great interest since community members now have the ability to help others find relief from pain, with many in the gardening community now providing massage. Exercise and stretch classes complement the massage, and an Affirmation course is also held, in addition to instruction in herbal medicine. The gardens are providing many herbs for medicinal teas, and the herbal gardens have been restructured so that the community members can be taught how to use the herbs in their daily lives. The older beds of herbs are being cleared, making it easier to identify existing plants. Cooperation with other gardeners preceded the successful launch of the Nyanga garden, which was attended by community leaders, organizations and projects conducting similar work.