south africa; the permaculture food gardens programme of food & trees for africa - gauteng

8/3/2019 South Africa; The Permaculture Food Gardens Programme of Food & Trees for Africa - Gauteng

1/5

WORKSHOP ON URBAN MICRO-FARMING AND HIV-AIDSJohannesburg Cape Town, South Africa

15-26 August 2005

PERMACULTURE FOOD GARDENSPROGRAMME OF FOOD & TREES FOR AFRICA

By

Jeunesse ParkFOOD & TREES FOR AFRICA (FTFA)

Gauteng, South Africa

July 2005


2/5

2

INTRODUCTION TO FOOD & TREES FOR AFRICA AND ITS ACTIVITIES

FOOD & TREES FOR AFRICA (FTFA), is a non profit non government public benefitorganisation established in 1990. Currently there are 15 full time employees and avarying number of sub contractors and volunteers.FTFA develops, manages and promotes greening, sustainable natural resourcemanagement and food security programmes. FTFAs programmes contribute topoverty alleviation, improved environments, capacity building and skills development,increasingly for People affected by Aids (PWAs).FTFAs mission is to work in partnership with government, the private and publicsectors and civil society to improve the quality of life and environments for allcommunities of South Africa. In the past 14 years FTFA has distributed over 2 milliontrees and helped to set up over 500 organic gardens for the poorest in South Africa.With the support of funders and the endorsement and cooperation of governmentFTFA implements four programmes, each with many projects. All FTFAsprogrammes are aimed at under resourced and underserved communities acrossSouth Africa.

FTFA is implementing the following programmes: Trees for Homes, The UrbanGreening Fund, EduPlant and Permaculture Food Gardens.

The Urban Greening Fund (UGF) is a basket fund that supports partnerships forsustainable development through tree planting, parks and food gardening projects,as well as environmental awareness and education.The UGF aims to:

Respond to NGOs and local government willing to implement Urban Greeningprojects that will improve quality of life and

Alleviate socio economic and environmental poverty

Build capacity, including business plan development

Facilitate partnerships between various tiers of government, NGOs and CBOs toexpedite delivery and ensure sustainability of projects

EduPlantis the national school gardening and greening program motivating schoolsand their communities to address poverty alleviation, greening, food security,capacity building and skills development.Benefits for schools:

Better nutrition and less dependence on feeding schemes

Unemployed parents and community members benefit from garden produce

Community outreach projects that provide food, trees and Permacultureassistance for hospices, HIV/AIDS patients, unemployed and indigentcommunities

Vastly increase their understanding of sustainable natural resource use andmanagement and their environment.

The Permaculture Food Gardens programme integrates ecology, landscape,

organic gardening, architecture and agro-forestry to provide healthy food for allanywhere. The word permaculture comes from PERMAnent and AGRIculture.Permaculture creates sustainable food rich environments by following nature'spatterns. Fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs build immune systems and help AIDSpatients.FTFAs Permaculture projects:

Teach schools and residents in low-income neighbourhoods how growing foodimproves diet and health, supplements income and saves on grocery bills

Address HIV / AIDS, health and nutrition


3/5

3

Communities wanting assistance to develop urban agriculture projects approachFTFA, who then seek funding from government, aid agencies or the private sector torespond to these requests.

LESSONS LEARNT

The interest in urban agriculture is growing in South Africa especially with the highrate of unemployment, the high incidence of HIV/Aids and illness and the lack of foodsecurity. To date no national government department has championed urbanagriculture.

Main challenges encounteredThe greatest challenges FTFA experiences in the urban agriculture projects are:

a. Limited access to basic resources such as land and water, seed and plantmaterials.

b. Lack of sufficient funding and support from government and the short termnature of funding which does not allow for full development of projects

c. Apathy and lack of commitment of beneficiaries and their urgent need forcash income which makes that (especially men) loose interest once theyrealize that are not being paid for food gardening

d. Lack of awareness, education and training in urban agriculture, sustainableresource management and use and business skills to name a few

e. Illness of participantsf. Community politics

Access to resourcesFTFAs criteria for providing assistance to new groups include that access to land andwater have been secured. Since schools in South Africa have land, many community

projects take place at schools. In some instances FTFA has intervened withgovernment to facilitate land access through 99 year leasing agreements or otheragreements. Where possible boreholes are sunk and water tanks installed. Dripirrigation has been piloted at several projects but was not found to be effective ascommunities tend not to maintain it well so pipes and sprinklers (not overhead asthese waste more water) are used instead.Access to organic seeds and planting materials (non GMO and non hybridized) isoften a problem.

Production aspects


4/5

4

FTFA provides appropriate planting materials for projects it funds, dependent onclimate and beneficiary requests and needs. It is a challenge introducing newvegetables, herbs and natural medicines to communities whose diets are extremelylimited but this is overcome through training, education and awareness.FTFA attempts to introduce as much diversity as possible and provides projects withorganic seed where possible.

Medicinal gardens are cultivated including an intensive workshop on the uses andcultivation of medicinal plants. Through research it has been found that manymedicinal plants have aided in alleviating some of the ailments related to HIV/Aids.

FTFA provides all tools to project beneficiaries. Gardeners are taught to makecompost, liquid fertilizers and natural pesticides.

Gardeners must volunteer their labour in exchange for access to resources andtraining. In instances where beneficiaries are ill or too old to work in the gardens thebeneficiary group are encouraged to conscript more members.

Production needs to be intensive and food and medicinal plants should be availablethrough out the year.

It is of importance to include a nutritional education and feeding scheme in theproject to ensure people receive a balanced meal on a daily basis. The consumptionof fresh organic vegetables defiantly aids and builds up the immune system of peopleliving with HIV/Aids. People have the opportunity to heal mentally, physiological andphysically as they engage in activities that have a positive impact on their lives.

Organizational and institutional aspectsCommunity gardens have been the main focus for FTFA in its developmentalimplementation process. The organization has focused largely on developinggardens where HIV/Aids infected and affected people are directly involved. Nutritionhas been the main objective and driving factor in these particular projects. Organic

gardening being the main methodology is a very important aspect to improve theimmune system of the people that are involved.

Community development is made or broken by the community themselves.Successful projects all have in common a dynamic, motivated community member ormembers to lead the project. It is usually an individual. Often strong leadership itselfcan lead to a projects demise as other members become jealous and destructive.

Extensive interdisciplinary training to these leading members and other groupmembers is crucial: training in urban agriculture and sustainable resourcemanagement, business skills, group management, nutrition, to name a few.

Total commitment has been an ongoing problem area in project development. Some

of this stems from members needing alternative ways of earning income whilst beingpart of a project. Additional courses such as entrepreneur, business, and craftworkshops has aided in altering the desperate need to find alternative income.

The health sector within the community needs to be directly involved. Programsinvolving health issues are of great importance wherein people living with HIV/Aidscan have easy access to health care including nutrition and sex education. Thehealth sector should set up organic food gardening projects at all clinics and provideinformation on urban agriculture, health and nutrition.


5/5

5

Local council and social services play an important role in mobilizing the communityto actively participate in theses type of project where the work force is week due tophysical set backs.

The main funding for our projects has come from the Urban Greening Fund,mentioned above. Funding support from government is still limited and a seriousproblem is the short term nature of funding which does not allow for full developmentof the projects.

south africa; the permaculture food gardens programme of food & trees for africa - gauteng

Documents