 |
| Veggies and fruits coming from the garden |
One of the
main objectives of my assignment as an Environmental Action Volunteer is to promote
gardening within my community and to teach community members new gardening
techniques such as composting and natural insecticides. Unfortunately, upon arriving in my village I
found that there was not a single garden in existence. I asked around as to why this was and
received a variety of answers: “it’s too hard to get water in the dry season”,
“gardening isn’t profitable”, “our village is full of farmers, not gardeners”, “the
goats will eat everything”, and so on.
 |
| The demo garden in its first season |
I decided to
put these claims to the test and start my own backyard garden. I figured if I could show people that
gardening could be done and that it was beneficial, they might take an interest
to it. Plus, it gave me a good way to
get some gardening experience under my own belt, and to have some tasty food
just a few steps from my door.
 |
| A roof, some sheet metal gutters, bamboo cut like a pipe, and a few jars is all it takes to collect water in the rainy season |
I’m now into
the third season in my garden, and over the past year I’ve grown a load of
produce ranging from tomatoes to watermelons to a handful of local leafy greens
that my neighbors love to put in their sauces.
The garden has been a huge success, and has sparked the interest of countless
people within my community. I’ve used it
to introduce fruits and vegetables that many villagers had never seen or tasted
before (sweet corn was a hit!), and as a venue to show off techniques such as
compost piles, mulching, trellises, and companion planting.
