Bluff farmer’s harvest shared with children’s homes

Eighty-four-year-old Panjaylay Naidoo, who has been farming for the last 70 years, has turned her garden into an oasis of greenery. She started farming at the age of 14 on a plot near the old airport, supplying fruit and vegetables to the Durban Market and ships in port.

She also joined the Farmers Union and fought with them to allocate land for local farmers.

After moving to her Fynnlands home 17 years ago, she continued the tradition. She grows a multitude of vegetables, herbs and fruit in an enclosed garden, supplied by rain water and raises chickens and ducks.

“When we moved to the Bluff and she still stayed in Merebank, she had to walk all the way to the old airport to farm every day, crossing the railway lines and it became too dangerous.

Garden work is hard, but like everything, if you do it little bit by little bit, you can do it

When she saw this house and the size of the yard, she was like a child who hadn’t had a toy her whole life so we bought it,” said her daughter, Agnes Vermaak.

With an excess of lettuce being produced, the family decided to donate it to two Bluff children’s homes.

The garden has become Panjaylay’s refuge and her expert care and skill show in the abundance of plants which have blossomed despite this year’s drought. Her daily gardening has become her hobby, relaxation, occupation and exercise.

“Garden work is hard, but like everything, if you do it little bit by little bit, you can do it,” she said.

 
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