Davenport garden project blooms
Work on the Davenport Park garden project began a few months after Bioregional South Africa’s successful transformation and upliftment of Sisonke Garden in Durban’s North Beach in 2022.
SARAH Alsen of non-profit organisation (NPO) Bioregional South Africa has begun the process of positive place-making in Davenport Park with the initiation of a food garden.
Alsen said the project was made possible by the SPAR Group, the Umbilo Business Association (UBA) and Glenwood UIP. Place-making is a participatory process for shaping public space that harnesses the ideas and assets of the people who use it.
This was after the NPO’s successful transformation and upliftment of Sisonke Garden in Durban’s North Beach in 2022. According to Alsen, discussions around the project started in October of 2022 and work started in November of 2022.
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“As a non-profit organisation, we are involved with sustainability. We promote something called ‘One Planet Living’ with ten principles of sustainability, which include equity and local economy, local and sustainable foods and zero waste. So we got started on our goal to place a food garden in Davenport Park and to make good use of this degraded park area – to start creating livelihoods for people who need employment, and organically grown, healthy, fresh produce,” said Alsen.
“The project is supported by the UBA and Glenwood UIP who funded our initial involvement, and for a short term, we had the People’s Employment Programme workers involved to get the garden going. We also had supper from the Park’s Department who lent us a front-end loader to help clear the land, and students gained work experience from DUT’s Horticulture Department,” said Alsen.
Alsen said the park had become degraded. “There were people sleeping here and drugs were being taken, so the plan was to promote positive place-making. This is about turning something negative into something positive. We are fundraising at the moment for the Dalton Road Crèche to be able to come into the park and use the lovely big tree to play under. The food grown in our garden will be used to feed into their daily school meals.”
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“The whole point is to make this a self-sustaining project in terms of the guys developing their own business and now having their own delivery system. I reached out to the eThekwini Transport Authority because I had heard they had bicycles available. They said, yes, they could donate two – one for Davenport Park Garden and another for Sisonke Garden in North Beach. The bikes were delivered on Friday, October 3. We also have cargo trailers that we attach to the bikes, and as of this week, our pedal power delivery system is up and running,” said Alsen.
To get involved in the project, or to purchase fresh produce, reach out to Sarah on 084 497 1661 or email her at sarah.alsen@bioregional.
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