The South African Organic Sector Organisation (SAOSO) in collaboration with Participatory Guarantee System South Africa (PGSSA) has launched SA’s first Ecological Organic Agriculture Pollinator programme. The programme is training 20 people to set up PGSs throughout South Africa that will help build more connected local food systems, provide organic assurance for consumers … [Read more...]
Climate action at community-level: African solutions that really work
Sufficient access to energy and resilient infrastructure are essential to realise the potential of African cities. Three years ago, a series of local-level solutions made five communities very happy. We revisit them to find out if the solutions were, in fact, sustainable. Through the Urban Low Emissions Development Strategies (Urban-LEDS ll) project, ICLEI Africa assisted … [Read more...]
Growing in the now
When the news broke it hit me in the chest. I have a high-risk child on immune suppressant drugs. Have fought so hard for him. My own lungs are damaged from embolisms. My other 2 smoke. Brutal. Yet all of life is at any given moment perched on the tip of a pin. Life had taught me that many times. The news unfolded in waves of shock… then the conflicting stories… matched by … [Read more...]
Preserving precious resources this Global Recycling Day
18 March 2020 marks 'Global Recycling Day’, a day to help recognise, and celebrate, the importance recycling plays in preserving our precious primary resources and securing the future of our planet. Today, we hear the words reduce, re-use, recycle on a daily basis. But how seriously do we actually take them? And how can we encourage more people to instill the “R’s” as a … [Read more...]
Let’s turn the corner on food wastage
If you take a moment to digest the statistics around the amount of food we waste today, it can be pretty overwhelming. It is thought that around one third of the food produced around the globe is lost or wasted. Richer countries waste something like 222 million tonnes per year, in Europe and North America that equates to 95-115kg of food per person, per year. The numbers are … [Read more...]
Langa garden helping to feed future sports heroes
“Siya Kolisi” enthralls spectators in the streets of Langa, Cape Town, with his tackles and accurate passes, but this is not the 28-year-old Springbok captain. It is in fact 13-year-old Luxolo Ntsholo who has adopted the moniker. The Grade 7 pupil will be jetting to Tokyo, Japan, next year to represent South Africa at the 2020 Olympic Games. A learner at the Mokone Primary … [Read more...]
No protection for Cape Town’s breadbasket even after drought
The Philippi Horticulture Area (PHA) Campaign - who host hundreds of UCT and foreign students a year and was presenting at this year's conference - has withdrawn from the Agroecology for the 21st Century Conference in Cape Town this week. The event is taking place at the Centre of the Book, Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town CBD 28, 29, 30 January 2019. The PHA Campaign and … [Read more...]
A friend in need: learning about companion planting
If you imagine "companion planting" to be a pleasant potter around the garden with a friend, you may be on to something. But it is also a system of buddying up the various plants in your garden to help control pests, maximise planting space, assist with pollination, encourage growth and improve yield. It can even enhance the flavour of your produce. I went along to a … [Read more...]
Joburg rooftop garden plants seeds of success
Working with the Johannesburg Housing Company and other partners, the JDA has planted a useful garden on the roof of a building in the inner city. Here, herbal remedies are grown alongside vegetables. While food security is on the agenda internationally, in its National Development Plan, or Vision 2030, the South African government has made clear its intention to alleviate … [Read more...]
Book Review: Mila’s Meals
It’s not often that you have the luxury of stumbling upon a wholesome, nourishing cookbook for ‘littlies’, that covers everything from weaning to toddler-hood. Perhaps if you’ve been hanging around all the right places most of the time, a little surprise like this ends up on your lap that leaves a delightful sparkle in your eyes. Having read this well researched book from … [Read more...]
Food Gardening Part 4: The art of companion planting
Companion planting is the art of combining different plant species in a group so all the plants in the group benefit from each other. A group of mutually beneficial companion plants are known as a guild. Companion planting brings a range of benefits to a food garden. It can improve soil fertility, attract beneficial creatures to the garden, help repel pests and diseases, … [Read more...]
Food Gardening part 3: Planning a food garden
The key to having a successful food garden lies in being realistic about what you hope to achieve, given the resources you have available. These are some things to think about that will help ensure success. All food gardens require regular attention in the form of weeding, watering and other small tasks that ensure the crops grow well. The amount of attention a food … [Read more...]
Why your life depends on healthy soil
In the first of a series of articles on growing your own food, Valerie Payn starts at the root of the matter – how human health depends on fertile soil. “Healthy societies depend on healthy soil, healthy soil depends on healthy biology, and healthy biology depends on what goes into the soil,” said Sir Albert Howard, one of the 18C founders of the organic movement who became … [Read more...]
