News from Roosboom Garden

Every week, the children hosted by Designing Hope at Roosboom’s Halfway House help to maintain the vegetable garden.Sowing, transplanting, watering, weeding and, of course, harvesting are all on the agenda.The 50 to 60 mother – and father – orphaned children … Read More

In Roosboom, the spring rains are a long time coming.The gardener at Halfway House had to fetch water from the river in cans to water the garden.Water shortages are frequent in the township, putting the garden at risk.

In Roosboom, the spring rains are a long time coming.The gardener at Halfway House had to fetch water from the river in cans to water the garden.Water shortages are frequent in the township, putting the garden at risk.

The snow came as a surprise on Southern Spring Day in Roosboom, South Africa. A violent storm caused the greenhouse to collapse. This was unprecedented in one of South Africa’s warmest regions ! The gardener and the two women in … Read More

The women in charge of the garden and the gardener at Halfway House are preparing for the arrival of spring!The cold, dry southern winter will give way to the temperate, rainy summer season, ideal for planting new crops.The beds are … Read More

Every day, the children at Halfway House in Roosboom help to look after the garden that provides the vegetables for their daily meals. Today’s mission is to water the spinach plants grown in the greenhouse and transplanted into the vegetable … Read More

The Roosboom gardener and the two women in charge of the centre set about preparing the beds for transplanting the spinach produced in the greenhouse at the end of winter. The soil is extremely dry, winter being the rainiest season … Read More

The Halfway House is a place for children to relax and enjoy themselves after school every day. They can enjoy outdoor games as well as board games inside the house, in addition to the daily meals they are served.These happy … Read More

The children from the Halfway House work on the vegetable garden with the centre’s gardener and two carers, Lulu and Fisani.

The children at Halfway House in Roosboom are taking good care of their seedlings, taking turns watering them every day. There’s still a few days to wait before they can be planted in the vegetable garden…

The greenhouse is an important part of the garden at HalfWay House in Roosboom.  It allows nurseries to be set up sheltered from direct sunlight, and protects certain crops from invasions of locusts and grasshoppers.  The children also help the gardener … Read More

The children at Halfway House and the centre’s gardener take great care of the flower-shaped Mandala vegetable garden.Before winter, tagetes, cabbage and spinach remain on the petals.

Fisani and Lulu were able to try on their work jacket and trousers made by the team at the Garden of Skills sewing workshop in Eswatini. The made-to-measure workwear bears the logo of the local association that runs the Halfway House in Roosboom. A … Read More

The beds in the garden at Halfway House in Roosboom have been redesigned by the gardener in charge of the kitchen garden. They are now ready for spring planting, and to benefit from the arrival of the first rains after … Read More

Children enthusiastically play the games developed by Dessine l’Espoir around vegetables from the kitchen garden. These fun and educational activities enable youngsters to discover the world of vegetables in an interactive and entertaining way. Thanks to these games, they learn … Read More

The children at Roosboom enjoy playing outside on the large lawn at Half Way House after lunch, while others water the garden with the centre’s gardener.

The youngsters at the Half Way House in Rooseboom were able to try out the new game launched by the association, which completes the transgardens catalogue for educational games in all the gardens run by Dessine l’Espoir and The Ivory … Read More

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

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

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.

The Roosboom Silethithemba reception centre Designing Hope’s local partner in South Africa, has harvested beautiful cabbage to feed the children of this underprivileged township. Good food in prospect!

Despite Covid-19 having slowed down the garden’s activity last year, the children and women of the garden enjoy the products of their crops. Thanks to the milpa technique, which consists in simultaneously growing corn, climbing beans and courgette on the … Read More

Zanele, Lulu and Fisani look after the Half Way House in Roosboom as if they were at home, children like those of a big family. The Roosboom Haf Way House is a little paradise in this underprivileged township of Roosboom.After … Read More

As part of the Roosboom garden’s educational programme, a plot of Milpa combining maize, climbing beans and courgettes has been set up. This technique of cultivation on different levels optimises the production of vegetables on a reduced surface area: the … Read More

At the “Half Way House”  in Roosboom, a home opened by the association @designinghope for orphans in this disadvantaged township in South Africa, the garden is used to produce fresh vegetables for the meals served daily to the children. This … Read More

Every day, 40 orphans from the township of Roosboom are welcomed at the Half Way House of Designing Hope, a centre where different activities are offered to the children for 2 hours after school. T hey receive a hot meal, … Read More

Roosbom’s “Half Way House” has adapted its functionning to the sanitary measures implemented in South Africa. A non-contact thermometer was purchased to check the children’s temperature before entering the center. The children can still benefit from a complete and healthy … Read More

In November, temperatures become warmer in South Africa. It is therefore an opportunity for the gardener and the women who are in charge of the garden to involve the children of the center in harvesting the last winter vegetables and … Read More

Today, on the menu, a vegetable and spinach sauce from the garden and an egg from the henhouse to accompany the rice! The youth could enjoy their lunch in the open space “Thebe Magugu”, the South African creator and sponsor … Read More

A small change in the organization of the Half Way House in Roosboom, the women, who were previously employed part-time to prepare meals for the children, are now there full-time, and take care of the garden the rest of the … Read More

Following the departure of the gardener in July 2020, the three women who look after Roosboom’s children at half time, wished to take over his job and share the activity of maintaining the garden. They look after the garden 2 … Read More

During the lockdown difficult times, the children were not able to go to the Half Way House. However, life is still active there! Masks were ordered to the sewing group for themselves and for the children of teh half Way … Read More

In July it is winter in Roosboom. Temperatures can drop as low as 5 to 10 degrees at night, but remain comfortable (15 to 20 degrees) during the day thanks to the strong sunshine (winter is the dry season). Perfect … Read More

3 women and one gardener run the Half Way House in Roosboom every day. In the morning, Lulu, Fisani and Zanele are also in charge of a home base care mission for HIV-positive patients living in Roosboom, entrusted by the … Read More

The South African fashion designer Thebe Magugu, went to Roosboom to visit Desining Hope’s Half Way House in February 2020. He discovered the outdoor exhibition of his creations photographed by Aart Verrips on scarecrows, in the open fields. This exhibition … Read More

Each week, Dessine l’Espoir organizes the delivery of meals for Roosboom’s children with a wholesaler located in the neighboring town of Ladysmith. Roosboom only has a few small convenience stores, in fact unsuitable for buying wholesale groceries (rice, oil, canned … Read More

A large covered greenhouse was installed in Roosboom to accommodate the seedlings of the vegetable garden. Unlike greenhouses that we are used to seeing in European gardens, what is most important in southern Africa is to protect from the sun … Read More

On the occasion of the photography exhibition organized in Paris to the benefit of Designing Hope, featuring the creations of the South African stylist Thebe Magugu on scarecrows, we proposed to the children of Roosboom to be inspired by Thebe’s … Read More

Roosboom’s mandala has taken on curves! We have undertaken to redraw the petals, both for aesthetic purposes, but also to increase its cultivated area. A work carried out with the children of the Half Way House.

The Mandala becomes a place of creation for children from different countries involved in educational garden projects…  The children of the Half Way House in Roosboom, adopted their own, and prepared a choreography around the petals of the garden…  

50 books about biodiversity, gardening, environment, nutrition, biodiversity, were purchased by Designing Hope to enrich the Half Way House library with the financial support of the A&A Ulmann fund. Books for all ages, to discover while having fun for the … Read More

In order to improve the nutrition of children, and with the support of the A&A Ulmann fund, a an abandoned local has been rehabilitated to accommodate a chicken coop with 40 laying hens. The room was covered, and secured with … Read More

Designing Hope added natural spices (Moringa powder, kurkuma, curry, etc.) to its monthly deliveries to replace the chemical condiments that are very popular in Africa. New recipes were adopted by the women who are preparing food at Roosboom Half Way … Read More

Moringa is both a fertilizing tree (which fertilizes the soil and the plantations that are made around its roots) and an important source of vitamin, thanks to its foliage. Moringa seeds are therefore harvested to plant new trees in the … Read More

Every day the children of Half Way House help gardeners water the garden.

A mixture of potting soil, topsoil and biochar was made with the children to do the sowing in the greenhouse.

An elongated greenhouse was made with the gardeners at Roosboom’s Half Way House to prepare the seedlings. A green shade was preferred to a plastic cover, to avoid excessive heat and to protect young plants from the sun, that can … Read More

Designing Hope encourages the preservation of the water resource. The washing of vegetables and hands is done in a basin, and the recovered water is used to wash the vegetables. Half Way House Roosboom, Ladysmith

The children of Roosboom took part to cultivating new vegetables on the mandala of the garden. Spinach and salads plants have been planted, replacing tomatoes that have been harvested.

Each month, the gardeners of Silethithemba are responsible for setting up a vegetable garden in a disadvantaged household in the neighborhood, affected by HIV. The beneficiaries take part in the installation of the garden, if their state of health allows … Read More

In the space of 2 years, Chaya’s 20 cm cut has become a real bush (right in the photo), which provides leaves for cooking, and can be generously duplicated itself for other projects. This month, cuttings were sent to South … Read More

After several months of throwing organic waste in the garden without organization, the children of the Half Way House decided to follow the advice of comics on permaculture and created a compost pile in the garden.  

In Roosboom, near Ladysmith in Kwazulu Natal, Designing hope started with local NGO Silethithemba the project “One House, One Garden”. Every month, one family with poor background is identified and the NGO helps financing and setting up a fenced garden, … Read More

Canned red beans are used for the daily meals cooked to the children of Roosboom. The children were asked to retrieve the empty boxes, flatten them to form a recovery material to make the walls of a henhouse. Women then … Read More