Glenkara Garden: A Source of Hope
Glenkara Garden is one of the best-administered nutritional gardens in the city and has won several awards from the Trust.
ZDDT News Correspondent, Ntando Sibanda (NS), caught up with the garden chairperson, Mrs Esnath Nyoni (EN), who then shed some light on its impact on the beneficiaries and the community at large.
Below can be found excerpts of the interview that ensued:
NS: Has this garden had an impact of the lives of the beneficiaries?
EN: Of course. It has a very huge impact as we no longer have to worry about where we are going to get vegetables to feed our families. Also this community is benefiting as its members can now come and buy vegetables from the garden. They no longer have to travel long distances to town (CBD) to buy fresh vegetables but they buy them from us, which is a walking distance away from their homes.
NS: How has ZDDT’s involvement impacted on the operations of this garden?
EN: Their constant visits to come and share ideas on how best to grow certain crops and which crops to grow at certain times of the year has been of great help. For instance, last year, Mr Spooner (ZDDT National Development Officer) encouraged us to practice companion farming to chase away pests and we grew marigolds all around our garden. As a result, we do not have the problem of pests any more.
NS: Do you think turning this garden into a successful business venture would benefit you more?
EN: Absolutely. With appropriate training as to how to properly administer the garden, we believe this would be very successful and would also serve as an example of how rewarding hard work can be. Looking for bride abroad? Find best ukrainian brides over 40 for marriage online. Best ukrainian dating sites for chat. Also, we are looking at further than just feeding our families with the vegetables but we want to convert this so that we can be able to sell to meet our other expenses such as paying rentals and sending our children to school.
One of ZDDT’s fundamental principles is to capacitate community members to venture into small-scale business enterprises so as to improve the quality of their lives. This is also in line with the Local Authority’s drive to nurture legal and productive land use among its residents to promote food security in the city.