In South Africa, permaculture was introduced several years ago as a development solution especially for townships, with the notion of “Door Gardens.” These gardens, the size of a door (2m x 1m), are adapted to suburban housing from townships, which often have a small fenced plot of a few square meters.
the idea is to create on that small surface a fertile land, using household waste mixed with plants available nearby (leaves, branches, grass …) and to associate crops for maximum performance on a small surface to provide a dietary supplement with fresh vegetables for families throughout the year.
Designing Hope supports the Silethithemba Halfway House since 2007 in Rosboom, one of the most disadvantaged suburb of Ladysmith District, in Kwazulu Natal.
Since 2011, Permaculture raised beds have been implemented in a pedagogical garden in this center.
This month, Bulheweze School in Roosboom received a donation of freshly harvested vegetables from the Halfway House’s vegetable garden. This initiative illustrates the remarkable progress made sincethe garden was expanded and a borehole equipped with a drip irrigation system was … Read More
At Roosboom Halfway House, the vegetable garden is much more than just a place to grow produce. It is a real learning and sharing environment for the 60 children from the township, who are welcomed every day and enjoy a … Read More
At Roosboom Halfway House, the vegetable garden is much more than just a place to grow produce.It is a real learning and sharing environment for the 60 children from the township who are welcomed there every day and enjoy a … Read More
The five women in charge of vegetable production are currently preparing the nursery for the coming spring in southern Africa. They are working the soil, selecting the seeds and starting the first sowings. At the same time, they are continuing … Read More
In Roosboom, South Africa, Fisani, manager of the Halfway House, is fully committed to managing the vegetable garden in order to optimise its production. She can count on the support of four women and two men from the township, who … Read More
At Roosboom, the women in the garden are transplanting young spinach plants into the greenhouse. Each plant is carefully placed to ensure good rooting and vigorous growth. Thanks to the automatic watering system, humidity conditions are perfectly controlled, allowing for … Read More
In addition to the five women in charge of the vegetable garden at the Halfway house in Roosboom, two men help out four days a week with the more physical tasks. This month, they set about creating a second nursery, … Read More
New growing beds are coming to life at Halfway House in Roosboom, deployed in the greenhouse and outdoors to enrich the garden. Four local women now contribute on a daily basis, working in pairs five days a week to ensure … Read More
Set up in January 2025, the greenhouse at Roosboom’s Halfway House is off to a great start! This is the fruit of the collective efforts of the entire garden team, who prepared the growing beds, installed the automatic watering system … Read More
The women in charge of the Roosboom vegetable garden had prepared a nursery of fertilizer trees, to be transplanted onto the garden beds. These trees will provide shade for the vegetable garden, as well as fertilizing the beds in accordance … Read More
