Started by five local women from the Tumahole township on the outskirts of Parys, Phahamang Basadi food garden has been providing fresh and affordable vegetables to the community since 2017.
The garden has been a real game-changer for the people of Tumahole as they no longer have to spend money on travelling long distances to stock up on healthy food.
As is the case with most good things, however, getting Phahamang Basadi to where it is today, has been no mean feat. Fortunately, with the support of Shoprite and a team of strong, dedicated women driving the project, none of the challenges was too big to overcome.
According to the founder, Meriam Mokgatla, the women visited a variety of institutions – including schools and a local clinic – to present their proposal of using a patch of ground to create a garden that could help feed the community. They were turned down time and again but never gave up hope.
They finally ended up at Boitlamo Secondary School, which allowed them to use part of the property for the garden.
“We needed a tractor to clean up the land so we could start planting but, when we couldn’t find one, we decided to clean the place on our own,” recalls Mokgatla.
“There is a borehole but is not working, so we used buckets to water our plants.”
Two years later and, against all the odds, the women’s hard work is paying off and the garden is thriving – a true testament to the dedication and perseverance of the women running the garden.
Phahamang Basadi participated in Market Day at Checkers Parys in April 2019 for the first time.
“It was scary to sell our produce at a well-known store but we got a warm welcome and the setup was beautiful,” says Mokgatla.
To support the good work Mokgatla and her team have been doing, Shoprite supplied gardening tools and seedlings through its partner, Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA). The retailer and FTFA are busy installing rain tanks and assisting in replacing the broken borehole pump. For information on the project, contact Meriam Mokgatla on 073 912 1675.
