Learners at Ezibeleni School for the Disabled are gaining valuable agricultural skills while helping to provide nutritious meals for their fellow learners through a thriving school garden project.

The initiative aims to teach learners practical farming skills that can help them become self-sufficient in the future while also contributing fresh produce to the school’s feeding programme.

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According to the school’s garden master, Zakhele Zwane, learners are actively involved in the gardening process and are taught the fundamentals of crop production based on seasonal requirements.

The current crop being cultivated is cabbage.

He explained that preparing the land is one of the most important steps in farming.

“First, you need to clear the ground of weeds and prepare the planting beds,” he said.

“Those who use rows instead of bedding are usually involved in commercial farming because rows are created mainly for irrigation purposes.”

He added that the school’s gardening methods are designed to meet the institution’s needs while creating an effective learning environment for learners.

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“What we have at the school is specific to our needs and allows us to teach our learners practical farming skills,” he said.

“Through our DCAP’s agriculture skills department, they are learning very fast.”

Zwane said the project is particularly important because it equips learners living with disabilities with life skills that can benefit them beyond the classroom.

“Since they are disabled, we are saying that as they grow, they must have life skills that they will need in the future,” said Zwane.

School principal Mendy Welcome said the project was made possible through the support of the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, which donated seedlings and gardening materials.

“The Department of Agriculture came through for us with seedlings and materials that made the garden possible,” said Welcome.

He said the project also plays an important role in improving learner nutrition.

“Our learners must have nutritious meals, meat for protein, and all the different vegetables to be strong,” he said.

“The garden is expected to continue expanding as learners develop their agricultural knowledge while helping to produce fresh vegetables for the school’s kitchen,” said Welcome.