Lily, an elder in the Gugulethu Community,  approached us in 2018 and asked for Call 2 Care’s support in implementing raised garden beds. These were to assist an elderly co-opt that runs the Elderly Garden, to continue growing vegetables without harming their backs.

 

Through many community conversations and planning, it was decided that this space would be used as a community garden, where a third of the produce would go to the Early Childhood Development Center  (Siseko Educare)next door, a third of the produce to go to a Soup Kitchen for homeless citizens in the area and a third of the harvest would be sold to the community at a reduced cost.

 

The proceeds of this income would ensure the sustainability of the garden, where key materials could be purchased for the garden, and to ensure the sustainability of the elders' livelihoods as some of those proceeds would be used to support themselves and their families. 

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In the spirit of Mandela Day, between 18 July - 20th July  2019, we were able to implement 30 iGardi Food Gardens in the Gogo’s Garden, and paint infographic permaculture guides on the walls of the garden. PPECB contributed to 20 of these iGardi Food Gardens.

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Currently, there are 36 iGardi Food Gardens that have been built in this space, thanks to the support of external companies that have donated the other 16 gardens. 

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The garden, since, has flourished and has benefitted Siseko Educare, homeless people in the area, and to the broader community church and funeral services, and private households at a fraction of the price of what they would have bought it from a supermarket. 

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