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.
Every day, the Half Way House in Roosboom welcomes between 45 and 60 underprivileged children from the Roosboom township. To mark the presentation of the games donated by the Apprentices of Auteuil, a barbecue was organised to complement the daily … Read More
A new gardener has just joined the team at the Half Way House in Roosboom, which is run by Designing Hope. Together with the two women who manage the centre, they are preparing new growing beds for the plants prepared … Read More
Every day, the children look after the vegetable garden at Roosboom, helping the women in particular with watering and tending the beds. The cabbages and spinach are harvested to accompany the meals served daily at Half Way House.
The greenhouse at the Half Way House in Roosboom, expanded with the help of the young farmers from St. Monica’s Farm in Lesotho, can now accommodate more plants, protected from the sun’s rays and from the birds and grasshoppers, which … Read More
As part of the exchanges between the various gardens in southern Africa, straw baskets made in Eswatini were given to the children of Half Way House in Roosboom to equip the henhouse. The hens quickly adopted the baskets as nesting … Read More
Like every day of the week, the children enjoyed a healthy and balanced meal at the HalfWay House. The meal consists of rice and a sauce prepared with vegetables from the garden. This nutritional support benefits about 50 underprivileged children … Read More
In Southern Africa, Designing Hope and The Ivory Foundation strive to forge human links between the actors of the different projects they develop and support. In 2017, the women of Eswatini and Roosboom came to train in permaculture the students … Read More
After completing the structure of the greenhouse in the Roosboom garden, the team of gardeners from St Paul’s School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Leribe, Lesotho, took charge of the interior of the greenhouse, using a grid … Read More
Each year, the organic seed company Agrosemens (La semence Bio) supports the association’s projects by providing reproducible seeds for the educational gardens. This valuable support will be accompanied by training in seed reproduction and conservation. Thus, the seed company and … Read More
While new plants are being prepared in the nursery, the Half Way House coordinators take care of the vegetables grown during the winter. These accompany the dishes on a daily basis served to the children at the Silethithemba centre.
