Gardens feeding hungry families – Cape Town

Former dumpsites transformed into vegetable plots

Residents living in the N2 Gateway social housing project flats in Langa have turned dumpsites on empty land into three thriving vegetable gardens.

Spinach, cabbages, kale, potatoes, onions, turnips, beetroot, pepper, peas, tomatoes, butternut, carrots, brinjal, sweet potatoes are grown as well as parsley, rosemary lavender, and fennel. The first resident to start a garden, in 2019, was Paul Moletsane. A few years later he was joined by Thobeka Gacula and Nomsa Gxibha, and now eight people work in this garden.

“It was a dumping place when Moletsane came to us and said he needs some people to do the garden,” says Gacula. “I volunteered. We started to dig and clean the garden. We would love to work with young people to expand the garden and help our struggling community.”

She said the garden had been provided with seeds by the church and Shoprite, and the South African Urban Food and Farming Trust was helping with training, more seeds, compost, and vegetable sales.

Also living in the flats, Athenkosi Nyovane and Olwethu Joseph Oliphants, who were unemployed, started their own garden during the pandemic to help their families and other residents of Langa.

“We just recently planted lemon, naartjie and orange trees,” Nyovane said. “Currently we sell our spinach for R12. When we have work, we get a few guys in the community who are not employed to help us and pay them from the money raised from selling vegetables.”

By Head Topics | SA

https://headtopics.com/za/south-africa-thriving-langa-gardens-feed-hungry-families-39729760