BIOGAS Garden Transformed!

Story and photos by Odwa Shaun Mtshini


The Biogas garden is suddenly growing in leaps and bounds!  With a recent WESSA injection Chintsa Primary School is now employing some green-fingered ladies to help out at the school gardens and revitalise the Permaculture food gardens drive that was initiated by the Biogas project. WESSA’s role in this new drive, headed by Phikisile Zondani, who has been instrumental in launching the iThuba Nursery & Co-operative, was to first find the right hands to work in the gardens.   

Now that these workers, who we have yet to meet, have settled into a routine the next stage can begin: slowly re-establishing the gardens  to produce some of the produce for the school’s Feeding Scheme – the original intention for starting these gardens - and of course using the gardens to teaching the school children the value of Growing.  Chintsa East Primary School has run the Monday garden club for nearly a year to bring in this green education, and it is usually led by Nokuphumla Pakamile, with the help of the volunteers in the Volunteer Africa 32° South programs run here in Chintsa East.

Phikisile, known affectionately as Bra Phiks by the locals, took us to see the incredible growth of the Biogas gardens this morning and got us up to speed on the progression of the food gardens.  We will keep you updated about the continuation of the gardens and we’ll upload more pictures.