A garden grown using permaculture principle.
This is an initiative taken by Moya Centre to empower their sponsored Students, youth and young moms’ clubs, pre-teens and kids, to improve their way of life by having gardens that feed them whilst protecting the environment. The project was started in 2017 as a way of showing our beneficiaries that they can get into farming at very low costs and end up starting their own small-scale businesses in the process. This is because there were cases whereby students would go back home from school only to find that there is nothing to eat and as a result some would have to drop out of school to find work, some would have difficulty coping and they would end up having bad results or fail.
Different individuals are involved in the success of this program, and we have taken the chance to interview a few of them to give an insight of what is really happening with the permaculture program. We spoke to three different individuals, our permaculture officer Masoka Magongo, who studied at Guba Eswatini, and he did a six-month course on permaculture. Now he helps the different individuals who partake in permaculture farming, and this is what he had to say about the progress of the project:
Moya Permaculture officer attending the garden
These people are now able to feed themselves without relying on other people’s help, as the project teaches them how to fish rather than giving them the fish every time.
Permaculture Officer Masoka Magongo
Masoka says “There are some challenges faced by these individuals pertaining the permaculture practice as they say it takes a bit longer for the vegetables to grow and the fact that mulch used to protect your seedlings from the sun sometimes brings more diseases to the plantation. He continued to say, “Some face the challenge of having proper fencing and using their homeland because other family members become jealous of what they are doing, then they end up stopping these projects”.
Umphakatsi pre-teens Club’s garden
Also, we interviewed our uMphakatsi pre-teen club youth leader Sonkhe Magongo who is now a student at UNESWA. He says, “I now need less money to start and run the project because the mulch needed is readily available, and less water is needed as the mulch holds the moisture for longer”. However, He says “It’s challenging to get the mulch in the summer season because the grass is always green, and also the weather conditions of some areas are a big factor that needs to be considered when doing permaculture because dry areas can make vegetable growth very slow”.
Then we spoke to one of our High School sponsored learners Sonto Motsa who is doing Grade 10 at Lobamba Lomdzala and also does the permaculture farming practice, and this is what she had to say “This project has taught me how to be responsible as it needs a lot of attention and commitment, and I have made money out of this, as I have been able to buy myself a t-shirt from my profits. Also, my family is able to get vegetables that are fresh and healthy close by”.
Mphofane pre-teen club member and Moya sponsored learner, Sonto Motsa
This project has taught me how to be responsible as it needs a lot of attention and commitment, and I have made money out of this, as I have been able to buy myself a t-shirt from my profits.
Moya Sponsored Learner -Sonto Motsa
This is a wonderful display of the impact that Moya Centre has on the community, which is inspired by conserving the environment and consuming the healthiest of garden produce. Also, the club members have benefited greatly from this program, as they are now able feed and support their families. As Moya Centre we are grateful to our amazing sponsor which is SAHEE Foundation and the support from our sister organization, Guba Swaziland.