CULTIVATING A GREEN FUTURE - A VISIT TO COMMUNITY GARDENS IN KHAYELITSHA
Last week, we met up with Reliance Compost’s Mieke Wills and Abalimi Bezekhaya’s Dave Golding, to visit a few of the farming projects in Khayelitsha that we all contribute towards.
The farms are a source of life, action and inspiration. Early morning, farmers were industriously tending to their plots and eager to share their experience in working with new vegetable varietals, testing out new farming techniques, seed saving strategies and methods of optimising the skills and tools they are exposed to.
Our first stop was Moya we Khaya, a 10000m2 community food garden, initiated in 2014 in conjunction with the World Design Capital project, where 11 farmers are growing for the market and a number of other farmers cultivating plots for food security for themselves and their families. This is the youngest garden of those co-facilitated by Abalimi Bezekhaya and in contrast, our next visit was to Sinoxolo, a food garden that sits on the grounds of a school in Khayelitsha, has been active for 10 years and grows organic vegetables for both market and food security.
At SCAGA, our final farm stop, we met with the group of youth farmers that are newly enrolled in the Young Farmers Training program and learnt about their daily curriculum, backgrounds and how the farmers are experimenting with different applications of Reliance Compost, in order to render it most compatible with the sandy soils of Khayelitsha.
The farms are a source of life, action and inspiration. Early morning, farmers were industriously tending to their plots and eager to share their experience in working with new vegetable varietals, testing out new farming techniques, seed saving strategies and methods of optimising the skills and tools they are exposed to.
Our first stop was Moya we Khaya, a 10000m2 community food garden, initiated in 2014 in conjunction with the World Design Capital project, where 11 farmers are growing for the market and a number of other farmers cultivating plots for food security for themselves and their families. This is the youngest garden of those co-facilitated by Abalimi Bezekhaya and in contrast, our next visit was to Sinoxolo, a food garden that sits on the grounds of a school in Khayelitsha, has been active for 10 years and grows organic vegetables for both market and food security.
At SCAGA, our final farm stop, we met with the group of youth farmers that are newly enrolled in the Young Farmers Training program and learnt about their daily curriculum, backgrounds and how the farmers are experimenting with different applications of Reliance Compost, in order to render it most compatible with the sandy soils of Khayelitsha.
WE LOVE OUR SEEDS WORKSHOP - SEED SAVING FOR URBAN FARMERS
On Saturday 2nd May, changemakers Ikhaya Garden, Ekasi Project Green, Slow Food Youth Network, Abalimi Bezekhaya and seed saving specialist Wendy Crawford came together to host a seed saving workshop for the micro-farmers and community of Cape Town, those that hold the future of food in their hands.
As many of the farmers that Abalimi Bezezhaya represent are now at a point of stable production, seed saving activities are ripe to flourish. Seed saving requires discipline and habitual action and thus dedication and continuity are essential. As seed saving is fundamental in food sovereignty,the presence of workshops like these is a very bright step for the future of food and farming in Cape Town.
The next generation of farmers and gardeners in Cape Town are emerging in the Cape Flats, with Ikhaya Garden and Ekasi Project Green paving the way. Their passion and ability to incite excitement for farming in their generation and generations to come is of crucial importance to the food sovereignty movement at large. These two organisation were on-board for the workshop to share their knowledge and the spirit of youthful action.
The event commenced on Saturday morning in Site C, Khayelitsha, then moving on to SEED in Mitchell's Plain, where the group received an information session on seed saving for the Brassica family, before returning to Site C for an afternoon of learning, sharing and growing.
The workshop was hugely informative and enjoyable, and served to strengthen the community and urban food growing movement in Cape Town. To get involved or lend your expertise to future workshops or seed saving initiatives, you can contact Wendy - [email protected]
Finding Common Ground, a new eco-documentary FEATURING CAPE TOWN’S URBAN FARMERS to be premiered at Cape Town’s Labia Cinema, Monday 13th
October 2014.
INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED FILMMAKER, JOHN D.LIU, FILMS LOCAL HERO, FARMER CHRISTINA KABA AT MOYA WE KHAYA COMMUNITY FOOD GARDEN, KHAYELITSHA
John D. Liu, together with a small team from the Environmental Education Media Project (EEMP) visited South Africa recently, to research and film for a new video series.
As part of their Western Cape focus, the filmmaker and his team visited Moya We Khaya Peace Gardens in Khayelitsha, a World Design Capital 2014 project. Moya We Khaya, is a 10000m² Community Food Garden project, aiming to transform the lives of local residents by providing the infrastructure, equipment, training and start-up requirements to plant and harvest crops for the table and to sell.
Highlighting the value of the individuals involved in the ecological restoration of our planet, is at the core of Liu and the EEMP’s features. Liu has come to see that that the people who work with soil, restoring and regenerating our soils are providing a crucial service and believes that “they need to be properly compensated, beyond the price of their vegetables.”
The visit to Moya We Khaya assisted Liu in meeting with one such individual, Christina Kaba, a leader within the urban growing movement and Field Operations Manager at Abalimi Bezekhaya. For the past 21 years, Kaba has trained local women from Khayelitsha and Gugulethu how to grow vegetables. Her impact has been critical in alleviating food security in South Africa and greening the Cape Flats and she has received national and international awards in recognition of her important contribution.
Kaba attributes great value to her farm upbringing, the agriculture skills it allowed her to cultivate and the wealth that they have given her. These skills, coupled with Kaba’s determined spirit means she can put her own food on the table and as she says "if you've got food... you've got everything."
Kaba’s story, in it’s normalcy, is one of true inspiration. She did not receive any fortuitous opportunities or hand-ups. Kaba is a hero for her great determination and hard work.
In growing her own food, inciting and teaching others to do so, Christina Kaba has created not only an income for herself but with it global recognition and great respect.
The EEMP team spent over three weeks in South Africa, filming and experiencing a variety of projects and people in the Western Cape and in the Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve, in the Eastern Cape.
EEMP will utilise the footage shot in South Africa for the first in a series of a socio-eco series short film series to be released later this year, titled Finding Common Ground - The Art of Healing the Earth. Liu’s most acclaimed film to date, Green Gold, has been screened at environmental summits such as Rio +20 United Nations Conference, film festivals, universities and for policy makers, politicians and critical voices globally.
There will be several screenings of Finding Common Ground - The Art of Healing the Earth taking place in Cape Town during October 2014.
As part of their Western Cape focus, the filmmaker and his team visited Moya We Khaya Peace Gardens in Khayelitsha, a World Design Capital 2014 project. Moya We Khaya, is a 10000m² Community Food Garden project, aiming to transform the lives of local residents by providing the infrastructure, equipment, training and start-up requirements to plant and harvest crops for the table and to sell.
Highlighting the value of the individuals involved in the ecological restoration of our planet, is at the core of Liu and the EEMP’s features. Liu has come to see that that the people who work with soil, restoring and regenerating our soils are providing a crucial service and believes that “they need to be properly compensated, beyond the price of their vegetables.”
The visit to Moya We Khaya assisted Liu in meeting with one such individual, Christina Kaba, a leader within the urban growing movement and Field Operations Manager at Abalimi Bezekhaya. For the past 21 years, Kaba has trained local women from Khayelitsha and Gugulethu how to grow vegetables. Her impact has been critical in alleviating food security in South Africa and greening the Cape Flats and she has received national and international awards in recognition of her important contribution.
Kaba attributes great value to her farm upbringing, the agriculture skills it allowed her to cultivate and the wealth that they have given her. These skills, coupled with Kaba’s determined spirit means she can put her own food on the table and as she says "if you've got food... you've got everything."
Kaba’s story, in it’s normalcy, is one of true inspiration. She did not receive any fortuitous opportunities or hand-ups. Kaba is a hero for her great determination and hard work.
In growing her own food, inciting and teaching others to do so, Christina Kaba has created not only an income for herself but with it global recognition and great respect.
The EEMP team spent over three weeks in South Africa, filming and experiencing a variety of projects and people in the Western Cape and in the Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve, in the Eastern Cape.
EEMP will utilise the footage shot in South Africa for the first in a series of a socio-eco series short film series to be released later this year, titled Finding Common Ground - The Art of Healing the Earth. Liu’s most acclaimed film to date, Green Gold, has been screened at environmental summits such as Rio +20 United Nations Conference, film festivals, universities and for policy makers, politicians and critical voices globally.
There will be several screenings of Finding Common Ground - The Art of Healing the Earth taking place in Cape Town during October 2014.