Abalimi Bezekhaya is greening the Cape Flats and, at the same time, helping poor residents to gain the skills and resources needed to produce their own food.
“Our starting point is providing between 2 000 to 3 000 survival food growers with subsidised resources such as manure, seeds, plant tools, organic pest control, training and information. This is done from our non-profit People’s Garden Centres in Nyanga and Khayelitsha,” says director Rob Small.
The project has been fantastically successful in developing a culture of urban agriculture. Already there are more than 100 existing projects and new applications for more continue to pour in.
“Abalimi can justifiably claim its projects are physical catalysts for an emerging urban agriculture and environmental action culture in the Cape Flats,” Small says. “Because of the practical value of indigenous flora — saving water, labour and money, as well as providing effective pest control — a new conservation culture is emerging, underpinning informal movements in the making.” The People’s Garden Centres are community-based nurseries run almost entirely by staff recruited from the poor, unemployed and the women of the area. The centres supply mostly indigenous plants approved by the Botanical Society of South Africa.
Every year around 3 000 trees are planted and the Manyanani Peace Park, an indigenous multi-purpose park Abalimi helped establish, remains a shining example for communities throughout South Africa. It has been visited by a host of local and international dignitaries. “Manyanani has demonstrated it is possible for the community to manage entirely such a facility, providing opportunities for job creation — women’s sewing and catering groups operate from there — and youth sports development,” Small says. “The clubhouse and outdoor amphitheatre also provide a meeting venue and safe facilities for children.”
Abalimi Bezekhaya has set up a number of education programmes to help residents and schools establish their own food gardens. At least 20 schools have transformed large sections of their grounds into educational, recreational and mostly indigenous oases. Teachers use the gardens to give youngsters hands-on, real-life classes in a variety of subjects, and food produced is used by the school or supplied to the surrounding communities.
At Hazeldean Farm in Phillipi, in a partnership brokered by Abalimi, indigenous arum lilies for the local (and hopefully future international) market are being grown. “This project, after just one year, is fully self-sustaining on half a hectare,” says Small. “Two full-time cultivators and around 20 seasonal workers are employed.”
But Abalimi is primarily about changing ordinary people’s lives – about putting food on their tables and money in their pockets. Organic food grown in the project’s community gardens is being sold at the Oude Molen Organic Market in Observatory in Cape Town. “About five groups of growers have reached a point where members, after paying their expenses, are earning about R100 each for every 100 square metres they cultivate,” says Small. “That is a lot of money to a penniless person, but the good news is our research shows members can expect this income to double or treble at least as their skills and commitment improve. There is a huge market for high-quality organic vegetables.” – Southside Media