HOME GROWN: Councillors Bongani Dlamini and Sam Kikine, Ink area Project Manager Linda Mbonambi, and veggie gardeners Zebalon Mxoli and Samukelisiwe Biyela

Picture and Story By: Themba Khumalo

Local co-operative gardeners will be more productive, thanks to a donation of wheelbarrows, hoes and garden forks coordinated by Councillor Sam Kikine. Delivering the equipment to the beneficiaries at the Inanda Ntuzuma and KwaMashu (Ink) Area Based Management office, where one of these food gardens is based, Kikine said, “I was merely following President Jacob Zuma’s lead, when he emphasised the importance of food gardens and the role they can play in fighting poverty.”

The food gardens are part of the One Home, One Garden initiative, the brainchild of KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Dr Zweli Mkhize. Kikine urged members of the co-operatives to share the equipment for the benefit of the community. “Use it wisely so that it can last longer. We want you to grow as cooperatives and end up selling your products to big retailers,” he said. Samukelisiwe Biyela, of Sidla Ngoludala cooperative, said, “I don’t have words to express our gratitude for the equipment and seeds we got today. “These things will help us a lot. These gardens will help us put food on the table for our children,” she said.

The co-operative also received soya beans and other vegetable seeds and instructions on how to plant and cultivate them. Ink area Project Manager Linda Mbonambi said, “I was approached by Councillor Kikine to assist in identifying areas which could be used for vegetable gardens. “I then spoke to the centre manager and that is how the gardens were started at the Ink offices. “The project is part of skills development and it promotes greening. People now know how to plant vegetables. We hope this will inspire others to start vegetable gardens at their homes and support the Premier’s programme,” he said.

khumalotk@durban.gov.za