Did you know Thanda has five Community Gardens? 

In all fairness, we probably don’t brag about it enough. Each one utilizes simple irrigation solutions that eliminate the complications that come along with starting a farm. These gardens are open to community members who want to set up a plot for themselves which, with our help, are carefully cultivated and maintained until they start producing beautiful vegetables! At the moment, we have 58 gardeners growing 19 different types of veggies.

What happens with the vegetables?

Each community member is able to take home whatever they grow and use it for themselves and their family. A whopping 60% of people in this area suffer from food insecurity so as you can imagine, having a garden where you can grow your own vegetables is a huge help.

What about the excess veggies? 

So glad you asked! In the event that there are excess veggies, each community member has the option to sell the surplus to Thanda which is then used to support our Feeding Programme. Alternatively, we sell the veggies to other rural communities that do not have access to food shops and where the soil is infertile. As we scale our agriculture initiatives, we’ll also begin selling to local farmer’s markets.

What is this doing for the community?

A number of things really:

• Feeding approximately 522 people
• Moving the community toward self-reliance
• Stimulating community income generation – farmers can earn up to three times the amount of minimum wage