Garden produces first crop
The Parks Department is pleased with the quality of the vegetables which have been grown in the food garden at Congella Park.
THE first harvest of vegetables was gathered from the Congella Park food garden this week and will be sold to local restaurants to help the homeless men living in the park make a living.
Jennifer Rampersad from the Parks Department was very pleased with the yield and the quality of the vegetables which have been grown, and said local restaurants, Parc and Glenwood Bakery, were eager to buy the produce.
This project was started at the park in November, when the city’s Parks Department in partnership with DSW and the Umbilo Business Forum (UBF) hosted a workshop for the homeless living in Congella Park. The homeless men were first trained in permaculture, organic food gardening, propagation, companion planting and compost making, and then set about creating the food garden below the depot in Congella Park.
Rampersad said the idea is to help the men earn their own money and she hoped the project would bring about personal upliftment.
Long term plans for the park include the establishment of a recycling centre with appropriate recycling bins placed in the park, and Rampersad said she has applied for funding for this second phase of the park revamp.
The plans form part of the Case Study for Congella Park which was addressed at a Parks Summit at Durban Botanic Gardens last year.
Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
