Free Community Food

HOW DO YOU OPERATE?

The principle is simple. We are approached to create food gardens where members of the public can harvest food for their table. The verge ‘owner’ undertakes watering and maintenance and together we create free produce. We and the other members of the Creating Eden family contribute time, plant seedlings and anything else required, for free.

We believe that by doing so, we teach, pass on knowledge, experience and support. We’re a real community powered by our intent to create a true community for change, and love for one another. We do not accept sponsorship or support from any organisation or company and our independence is critical to creating our goal, which is ‘free food for all’. In our journey we have met wonderful, giving, caring people who have changed how we in society see the feeding of the vulnerable, and who are prepared to really make a change for the better.

WHEN DID YOU START?

We did our first verge garden during the second week of the lockdown in April 2020. Ghalema had wanted to create food gardens on freely accessible land for a very long time, having always believed that a time would come when hunger would be knocking on everybody’s door. The first lockdown created a need for immediate action, to combat a threat to food security.

One morning we started working the verge outside our home in Dick Burton Street, Plumstead. Armed with spades, seven fruit trees and a do-or-die belief that something needed to happen, we cleared the grass, enriched the soil and planted the trees – all in one session.

We decided that if no action was taken by the City of Cape Town to return the verge to a brown, dry, foodless desert within a few days, we would expand along our verge and plant more food. A few days passed and still our seven trees were happy where we had planted them.

WHAT DID YOU PLANT?

Now came the time for expansion, with chard, beetroot, turnips and carrots. The whole verge was planted up and our homemade signboard saying, ‘Creating Eden – Free Food for All’, was now in place.

One day we were busy maintaining and watering when a lady stopped to ask us who was responsible for the garden. Instead of things becoming an issue, we discovered that this lady, now our dear friend Tina, was a neighbour some way down the street and she wanted
to convert her own verge as soon as possible.

So began our path to 20 more verge/ community gardens. Shortly after the start of our journey we met Martin (now our co-partner) with his incredible knowledge and passion for growing food and caring for people. The three of us then became the Creating Eden team. Are your verge gardens on a publicly accessed verge or pavement, and free of charge?
Yes. Ghalema (my wife) and I always work for zero cost, without exception. We are privileged to be able to do so by virtue of our pensions and any other work we have. However, Martin, is not in the same position as us, and so we agree in advance with any verge ‘owner’, to pay his fee of R350 for the day. While Ghalema and I are by no means shy about digging and prepping a large verge, Martin’s younger energy makes the heavy, initial work more efficient. If, as has been the case on many occasions, the garden is on a private property, and not on a verge then Martin offers his services for the same fee, but the garden won’t be established under the name of Creating Eden.

ABOUT CREATING EDEN GARDENS

• Organic. No chemicals are used, whatsoever.
• Compost comes from our own compost heaps, whenever possible.
• We use horse manure that we collect for free from a horse rescue charity, Tom Ro Haven for Equines and Children.
• We promote and teach seed saving and seedling rearing so that once established there is never a need to purchase seeds or seedlings.
• We believe that any process we use should be as simple and inexpensive as possible so that what we do can be easily and freely copied by anyone, whatever their financial position, provided they have a small area of ground or even a few pot planters to spare.
• We only grow food staples (nothing esoteric or decorative except for companion planting).
• We encourage the growing of plants like amaranth and others in the African leafy family that are considered weeds in many gardens, but are actually highly nutritious, easy to grow and highly valued by many African people.
• Above all, we believe that the growing of food is not only critical to survival but is symbolic of community, sharing and humanity.

Facebook: @seedtofreefood