The Zimbabwean Gardener Issue 12 Autumn 2015 High res | Page 34

Community gardening

Nutritional Gardens
of Bulawayo
by ZDDT

The Zimbabwe Development Democracy
Trust brings hope and inspiration to the
less privileged areas in Bulawayo through
community gardening.
In the midst of the Zimbabwe dollar crisis, urban hunger became a
reality as supermarket shelves emptied. Malnutrition was evident,
particularly in township communities, and some residents moved
to rural homes to try and survive. In Bulawayo, strict environmental
regulations prohibited widespread urban agriculture in protected
green areas, including vleis and wetlands. However, with the
breakdown of authority, these regulations were flouted and
exacerbated by the illegal felling of trees, as the increasingly
impoverished communities sought cheap fuel for cooking.

What they do

At this time, the Zimbabwe Development Democracy Trust (ZDDT)
set down its roots in the community, from where it launched a
number of innovative programmes. Introduced by locally elected
Councillors and their Community Action Teams (CATs), the
principles of self-help were sown in neighbourhoods across the
city. Work teams were rallied to clean up the streets and vacant
areas, working in conjunction with the City Council; potholes were
repaired, drains cleaned, and parks and public amenities restored.
ZDDT implemented its commitment to the City of Bulawayo by
supporting the return to the rule of law, covering the chaotic and
haphazard cultivation blighting the landscape. There are now
around 40 community gardens in Bulawayo, all approved by
Council and operated within Lands Inspectorate guidelines. These
gardens relied on summer rain and drew water from contested
boreholes, which were drilled and equipped as emergency
domestic water supplies, should the city’s dams run dry. It
should be pointed out to readers at this juncture that, contrary
to common belief, there is plenty of water but limited capacity
to move it to the treatment works! Many of these gardens had
little or no organisation, but a small number decided to set up
committees. Primarily the objective was to grow food for survival,
as it was not available in the shops.
ZDDT introduced water wise techniques whilst supporting
the Council’s own attempts to reduce underground water
consumption; drip irrigation, mulching and other methods were
employed. Small orchards were developed, and tools provided
to enable local people to set about expanding their gardens
and improving their skills to increase productivity. Subscribing
to the Trust’s principles, all activity was organised through the
local Councillor and the CAT. Given the considerable amount of
experience gained, opportunities were created for ZDDT to take the
next step.

The next steps

There was a great need to ensure that the gardens were turned
into something more than emergency food supplies. Food security
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