NPO assists old-age home establish vegetable garden

A vegetable garden was established at Jacaranda Old Age Home in Promosa after Ryan Swarts, the MMC for Housing, Development and Planning, and the Patriotic Alliance identified it as a beneficiary.

“We started the project in August after Ryan invited us to assist them in establishing a vegetable garden for the home,” said Jerry Mngxitama, founder of BGSA. This non-profit organisation (NPO) specialises in helping community members start vegetable gardens.

According to Ryan, it was important for the PA to assist with BGSA’s expertise because the home needed food security. “Many of these residents depend on grants, which are not enough to sustain them until the end of each month,” Ryan explained. “This initiative will ensure that they are well fed and sustained; they have already started eating from the harvest.”

According to Jerry, the garden consists of vegetables like beans, tomatoes, onions, pumpkin and spinach. Mme Rebecca, a resident of Jacaranda Old Age Home, has already tasted the first harvest, and she cannot stop talking about how delicious and fresh the spinach is.

Jerry says their only challenges with the garden are dogs that often come and eat the plants and the watering system to maintain the garden. “We had to use a hosepipe that is not long enough to reach the garden,” Jerry said. “I am concerned about the residents because it takes a lot of hard work to water the garden, considering their age.”

As a result of the recent heavy rains, Jerry says the garden should be fine for three to four weeks before it needs watering again. “The only thing we are concerned about at the moment is getting sponsors to help us get agriculture tunnels. They will help prevent all sorts of insects from damaging the food,” he said. The PA and BGSA plan to hand the garden over to the home officially in November.