Soil for Food Security in South Africa

In South Africa the restrictions and impact of Covid-19 are having a direct effect on millions of children. 5 000 000 school children rely on government school feeding schemes. Since school closures and disruptions due to Covid-19 protocols and social distancing, millions of children are now going hungry. In a grassroots response to the ensuing food crisis and job losses, many local community members have set up soup kitchens from their own homes. Establishing food gardens creates an opportunity to feed into these soup kitchens with fresh, nourishing, healthy vegetable. Growing gardens restores a valuable sense of purpose and teaches a skill set that can help people to provide for themselves and their families´ basic needs. It also provides a place to connect, share seeds, recipes, nutritional advice and stories!

Of course, at the foundation of these food gardens is the soil! Especially in a small, intensive space, soil fertility and nutrient cycling is essential. Thanks to the sponsorship from KILT (The Knysna Initiative for Learning and Teaching) a training was run focused on soil fertility strategies and seed saving.

All the participants are currently employed as gardeners in the school gardens which KILT supports. They learned to make compost, how to use and make vermicompost and organic cumfrey fertilizer.

Participants learned that soil is alive! And that in order to grow healthy food in abundance, we need to feed this soil food web that feeds us. Vermicompost - a closed compost system using earthworms, kitchen scraps or manure is also a wonderful, free fertilizer creator that the participants were encouraged to start.

Written by Kate Curtis, Soil4Life Trainer

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