Planting for the future

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime – Maimonides.

This rang true for Talisman Hire Ballito, who were tired of giving money to charities, without knowing what happens to it. To address this, they decided to take a different approach this year.

When they heard about the Amanzimtoti Community Upliftment Project (AMCUP), which is a drug rehabilitation centre that strives to rebuild the addict’s life through life skills courses and job creation projects, they became particularly interested in their food tunnel project.

You buy a food tunnel from AMCUP, which is delivered, assembled and planted with your choice of vegetables.

“This is a fantastic initiative, as it gives a community the opportunity to become self sufficient by growing their own food, ” said director, Kevin Mackridge.

“When I heard Kwa Mama Care Centre project manager Frieda Bontkowskyj mention they were struggling with their veggie garden, it became the perfect opportunity to help two charities,” he said.

“On December 1, the first food tunnel was set up at Kwa Mama, with 100 spinach seedlings and 100 cabbage seedlings.”

“They should be able to harvest the vegetables in three months time and they can either sell the produce or use it for their own consumption.”

“This is freaking fabulous!” said Bontkowskyj with a big smile.

The tunnel is nine metres long and four metres wide and can accommodate about 200 seedlings at a time.

“We aim to build two more tunnels for Kwa Mama next year, which means 50 people can be fed throughout the year, if managed properly.”

Another great aspect of the tunnel is they do not require running water, in fact only ten percent of the water needed in an open garden is necessary in the tunnel.

“This is a major advantage, especially with the current drought and water restrictions we are experiencing,” he said.

“The tunnels have a double door that locks in the moisture and keeps out the insects and monkeys.”

Furthermore, the tunnel turnover is approximately eight times that of an open garden.

There is also no need for expensive soil, as an organic, slow releasing fertiliser is put into the soil, which means the garden is 100 percent organic.

What better Christmas gift, than a chance to become self sufficient and the knowledge that you have food and a business opportunity growing in your backyard.