Organisation goes organic

The organisation is using everything organic to make sure their plants are 100% natural and nutritional.

With two vegetables gardens in Duduza and Dunnottar they want to expand to promote organic farming in the community.

Shaheed Ndongeni (59), the training and capacity manager, explains that they use organic water to water the crops as well as organic fertiliser.

“Tap water is full of chemicals and chlorine which is not necessarily good for plants and neither are fertilisers,” he says.

Anawanti prides themselves on making their own organic fertiliser which they get through their vermin farm.

A vermin farm is when worms live in a bed of soil where they are fed organic kitchen waste including vegetable and fruit off-cuts.

According to Ndongeni the worms release a very nutritional vermin that serves as a fertiliser which they use to grow their vegetables.

“Organic farming takes a longer period of time as we have to wait for the vermin farm and rain so that we may tend to our garden.

“Currently we are growing peppers, chilli and various herbs,” he adds.

One of the organisation’s long term plans is to have their very own organic market where locals can get fresh organic fruit and vegetables.

Ndongeni also advises locals who have their own vegetable gardens to get their soil tested so they may know what kind of vegetables they can grow and to also treat their soil on a regular basis.