One year after the Chatty community garden was established, it is still going strong and aiding underprivileged residents despite a lesser harvest during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The garden, which boasts a variety of vegetables ranging from onions to cabbage, tomatoes, lettuce and herbs, was established at the Chatty Community Hall in September 2019 and produced its first harvest in January this year.
Ward 35 Councillor, Helga van Staaden, who maintains the garden along with community volunteers, said that although the latest harvest was not as big as they expected, it was still enough to aid needy residents.
“We have been distributing the vegetables to the Chatty Clinic and, whenever a resident is in need of food to put on the table, they come and ask us for vegetables.
“We give it to them because the garden is there to help the community and anyone is welcome to take some of the harvest home,” Van Staaden said.
With the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro declared as a drought disaster area, fresh water used for the garden was initially sourced from water leaks in the ward.
Later on, non-municipal water from the Van Der Kempskloof in Bethelsdorp was used.
“The pandemic really put a damper on this project. We could have had a bigger harvest, but there was only so much we could do as we had to adhere to lockdown regulations,” she added.
Van Staaden said that she still had the hope of turning this gardening project into a “one home, one garden” initiative. “With this initiative, I would like all residents in the metro to adopt the concept of establishing a garden in their yards, even if it’s just a small one.
“It would not only help put food on the table, but also contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment.”
She added that her ward’s long term goal was to convert dumping sites into beautiful gardens.
“It excites me to see a harvest and I have become inspired. I would like to see each and every resident start their very own garden.”
