The Zimbabwean Gardener Issue 12 Autumn 2015 High res | Page 35

gradually returned to the country and, with this in mind, plans
were laid down to look further ahead. The gardens were re-branded
as ‘Nutritional Gardens’ and four were chosen; investment from
the Sally Foundation in Australia provided much excitement and
enthusiasm. With a balanced diet in mind, the gardeners were
introduced to a variety of new types of vegetables, many of which
had never been grown or consumed in local households. It was not
long before beetroot, lettuce, potatoes and various other vegetables
were flourishing, filling the markets and being consumed locally.
It was now time to turn the gardens into profitable enterprises and
ZDDT introduced training, incorporating subjects such as Small
Business Management and Market Linkages. Progressively, the
gardens evolved and soon thriving businesses developed. ZDDT
began training record keepers, and statistical representation of
these success stories began to show. Net profits, after garden fees
had been deducted, were recorded by 5 record keepers in each
of the 4 gardens. Measuring sticks such as the degree to which
meat is introduced into the diet, and how up-to-date school fees
and utility bills were, proved an accurate insight to the success.
Most im