Food gardening webinars

'If you want to change the world, go home and love your family. ' - Mother Theresa

As a community of Earthkeepers, we recognize the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things in nature.

One thing you can do that will help you live more sustainably and create nutritious food for your faith community, is grow a food garden at your place of worship.

SAFCEI will be hosting a webinar series that will take you through the process of starting your own food garden within your faith communities.

Our presenter will be, John Nzira, from UKUVUNA Urban Farming, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) registered in South Africa, which focuses on practical skills in nutrition, permaculture and low external input agricultural methods for the development of sustainable livelihoods in urban, peri-urban and rural areas.

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/99376412110?pwd=YTh4UTJYS2ttZDhyV1VTY1c4NGxRUT09

More information provided below.

Workshop topics

22 September 2020

Workshop 1: Soil management (soil anaylsis, soil health, soil conservation, soil improvement, how to prepare soil for growing crops).

Watch the recording | Download the presentation ‎| Download the notes29 September 2020

Workshop 2: Plant selection and how to grow them (dry land, vegetable garden & herbal production) including Companion planting (alley cropping, mixed cropping.

**Watch the recording**6 October 2020

Workshop 3: Plant nursery establishment and plant propagation (vegetative and non-vegetative)

**Watch the recording**13 October 2020

Workshop 4: Water management & irrigation (water harvesting, grey water treatment, drip irrigation, ground cover, How to harvest and conseve water for crops.)

**Watch the recording**20 October 2020

Workshop 5: Soil management: feeding the soil, biofertilizers (how to make compost, liquid manure, vermiculture, growing green manure cover crops, etc.)

Watch the recording | Download the presentation 27 October 2020

Workshop 6: How to establishing an Orchard

Watch the recording

3 November 2020

Workshop 7: Pest and disease management 1

**Watch the recording**10 November 2020

Workshop 8: Pest and disease management 2

**Watch the recording**13 November 2020

Workshop 9: How to maintain your garden

Watch the recording

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoiBazEhvSA337wPSzVyyiQQrkVH9CLL_[/embed]

Rev Andre Naidoo shares with us pictures of the food garden he has been working on with the community in Cuban Heights/Rondevlei.

I look forward to each Tuesday's Food Garden Webinar. It is inspiring to see John presenting directly from his farm, showing us simple, practical techniques, And wow! they actually work, my humble kerbside gardens now seem happy and productive, - 3 vines are sprouting, Als, 'kruitjie-roer-my-nie' (Melianthus major), beetroot, rosemary, parsley, etc.

Regarding my efforts to affect & inspire others, the pictures of humble efforts in Lavender Hill and Delft, with Tan, Christo, Anna, Lucinda, Ouma, etc, looks so promising.

This webinar is an invaluable learning foundation upon which we are building, Thank you SAFCEI!

Vanda Chittenden from St Mary's Anglican Church, Kingsburgh shares with us the story of how they started with their food garden and realised the bigger community need.

Toti'lly Veg garden was started to grow vegetables for families in need. We care about God's Creation, and as people of God, we are part of the Creation, which makes it important to care for our neighbours, for all people in our community in Amanzimtoti and surrounding areas.

This garden was also our pilot garden to test out, ways of creating monkey proof gardens and to try out the techniques learned during the Food Garden workshops.

Our biggest sponsor is the company that I work for, and they allowed us to use the back garden for the project.

I have since realized that this project is far too small to feed all the vulnerable families, and so we in the process of creating an NPO, and have been given permission to use a much a larger stand on property owned by The Church of the Good Shepherd in Amanzimtoti, that should hold about 10 tunnels.

This new location, will be host to workshops to empower women and children to start their own gardens and what to do with the produce once harvested. From this location, we will be able to provide food to ECD centres, struggling communities and to church groups who provide a regular feeding scheme to the homeless. The workshops will also target a second set of people, the Faith organizations in and around our area, to learn how to set up their own food gardens, which will in turn help feed more people.