Soil for Life, a registered non-profit organisation in Constantia that helps people learn to grow healthy, organic food using simple, low cost andenvironmentally friendly methods, hosted its home gardening awards in Brounger Road on Friday November 10.
People from all over Cape Town joined the home gardening cycle, where they had been taught how to maintain their own food gardens.
The cycle runs for a 12-week programme and the staff at Soil for Life visit the homes of the people who are involved in the programme, choosing the first and second best of the gardens.
There were prizes handed to first and second best, home garden, container garden, new home garden and most recycled garden.
FranFredericks, field co-ordinator at Soil for Life, did the official welcoming and called two women to share their gardening experiences and their journey through the 12-week programme.
Magda Campbell, the first woman to speak about her successes and failures through her 12 weeks of gardening, encouraged the group to not stop gardening after the completion of the home gardening course. “Soil for Life actually showed me the importance of growing your own vegetables. In my first cycle I had the most beautiful crops but the second and the third I just went down,” said Ms Campbell.
Serene Fabing got the crowd cheering with her account of how Soil for Life had changed her life and way of thinking.
“With this gardening process we have broken racial barriers. When I started with my trench bedsmyhusband teased me, but not anymore because I am now feeding him from my garden,” Ms Fabing said proudly.
PatFeatherstone, director and founder of Soil for Life, expressed how proud she was of the groups which have put in extra effort into creating their own food gardens.
For more information about Soil for Life, call 021 794 4982, email info@soilforlife.co.za
or log on to their website at www.soilforlife.co.za
