MARULENG: Making gardening fun in local schools
In order for this to be achieved, both Holy Family Care Centre and Maatla Primary School have been introduced to the future of gardening, Gardenizly.
Two participating schools in the Maruleng municipality, including Holy Family Care Centre for destitute children near Ofcolaco and Maatla Primary School in Finale village have been identified by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to receive help towards obtaining food security.
Food insecurity is increasingly becoming a daily social problem in our society. It continues to affect the majority of our populations in many ways. Solutions to this monster would require that no effort be spared towards innovative and creative ways of sustainable food production practices.
In order for this to be achieved, both Holy Family Care Centre and Maatla Primary School have been introduced to the future of gardening, Gardenizly. Gardenizly is a water efficient gardening technology innovation medium.
Read: Maruleng schools benefit from improved food security
Attracting the youth to be interested in food production practices is often bedevilled by certain perceptions, being that it is tedious and laborious. Gardenizly however, is a user friendly production medium invented by Dr Diale that reduces working with soil immensely or not at all.
Seedlings are grown in a medium equipment which by nature is neither tedious nor laborious. Something quite opposite to the synonymous conventional gardening practices. The model makes gardening quite interesting.
Implementation took a participatory nature at both of Holy Family Care Centre and Maatla Primary School. Educators, learners, workers and extension officials took an active part. That ensuring the ownership of the project and the learning circle going with it.
Decomposed soil is put into a designed container where seedlings are being transplanted according to easy to follow rules. At this piloting stage, spinach seedlings were transplanted although a number of vegetables could be produced to meet domestic consumption.
Gardenizly comes as a solution to food insecurity in rural schools and communities. It does not require a big area for one to produce food. Furthermore, it is important to note its efficient water use, a scarce and constraining resource in this area and many others in the province.
The project is in its second year production season.
