Instead of spending her twilight years in armchair cogitation, octogenarian Anna Gomba has taken up the spade and wheelbarrow.
As part of the Mamelodi Greening Committee, 82-year-old Gomba leads a group of 36 volunteer pensioners who work in the Pretoria township’s flourishing food garden, where they cultivate fruit and vegetables, living healthily off the land.
Gomba says the harvest from the food garden has had a tremendous effect on the pensioners’ lives. ”We feel healthy and super-fit, we no longer fall victim to the kind of ailments most elderly people are susceptible to, thanks to the fresh produce we cultivate here,” she adds.
Gomba says the food garden saves the pensioners money, as they grow sufficient amounts to feed their families as well as themselves.
The food-garden project is part of an initiative launched by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in partnership with Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA). The initiative aims to address environmental problems confronting many South African communities.
These problems include overpopulation, environmental illiteracy, soil erosion, drought, the silting of rivers and desertification.
The partnership resulted in the formation of the Mamelodi Greening Committee in 1991. The food garden is one of the committee’s key projects.
Situated next to a wetland area in Mamelodi, the garden is remarkably fertile, despite its proximity to a busy main road. There is a tool shed and a water tank fed by a borehole, which feeds a variety of crops such as cabbages, spinach, onions, apricots and peaches.
Crops are grown seasonally on the whole, although the group’s needs can also determine what it grows. For instance, in winter oranges, cabbages and onions are cultivated. The mild Pretoria climate also enables them to cultivate some traditionally summer crops such as spinach and tomatoes.
Gomba’s love for gardening dates back to 1972 when she was involved in horticultural training. When the Mamelodi Greening Committee was launched 11 years ago, she jumped at the chance to use the skills she had been taught so many years before.
Although committee members share the fruits of their labour among themselves, plans are afoot to sell these to the local markets.
The Mamelodi community at large also derives tangible benefits from the food garden. It helps to address poverty and malnutrition in the area and has increased the level of environmental awareness, driving home the point that everyone involved in the food garden has the potential to contribute something to the greater community.
Flora Mthombeni (62) is another proud food gardener. A practising nurse at Pretoria Academic hospital, Mthombeni shares her knowledge of the medicinal uses of various plants and herbs. She explains that garlic can alleviate asthma and coughs, celery is good for arthritis and comfrey is useful in battling stress and high blood pressure.
The food garden is an important part of the first phase of the three-phase JNF/FTFA initiative in Mamelodi.
This initial phase has culminated in the establishment of Nelson Mandela Park — a spectacular recreational area created specifically for the Mamelodi community.
Phase two of the project comprises a permaculture food garden called the Mandela Peace Garden and the third phase will see the launch of an environmental education and resource centre, which will serve as a base for local projects and a forum for environmental issues for Mamelodi’s 78 primary schools and 15 high schools.
JNF fund-raising executive Gloria Isaacson said the centre will be fully eco-friendly, thanks to the involvement of the International Institute for Energy Conservation, which is making sure the R2-million construction conforms to energy-saving requirements.
Project manager Ivan Molepo said the centre will have four rooms, each assigned a specific environmental theme, and will also boast a multi-purpose hall.
Isaacson said the JNF is involved in the sponsorship of similar projects, including the Food and Water for Africa project in the village of Mangodi near Thohoyandou, where a thriving food garden has also been established. Also, another ”Nelson Mandela Park” has been opened in Delft on the Cape Flats.