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Chitungulu Foundation community outreach - nature conservation
Project: Organic Vegetable Gardening
Background
Malnutrition in children is widespread in Chitungulu, as can be seen from various classic
symptoms of malnourishment such as underweight infants, young children stunted in their
growth and mediocre performance at school. In 2011, we met with several vegetable
gardeners in Chitungulu (mostly men). At the time, these gardeners were the laughing stock
of the village as they were laboring year-round, tending their gardens in the dry season
(May-August) instead of taking a rest from the laborious planting and harvesting season, as
everybody else does. We noted in those early years that there was limited choice in
vegetables: several local greens, Chinese cabbage, tomatoes and onions. We also noted that
there was hardly any knowledge about organic gardening techniques. Certainly alarming was
the habit of some of the gardeners to apply their left-over cotton pesticides as a pest
repellent in their gardens. On top of that, we observed that most of Chitungulu’s residents
were not fully aware of the various health benefits of vegetables.
Together with several vegetable gardeners and some women self-help groups who were
worried about malnutrition in their children, we decided to beef up the vegetable gardening
activities in Chitungulu. Obviously, our focus on organic vegetable gardening rather than
conventional, mainstream gardening emanates from the foundation’s overall goal to
encourage a sustainable use of natural resources in and around Chitungulu.
Our approach
- 1 Transfer of know-how
In 2012 we started to train some of the most diligent vegetable gardeners in Chitungulu.
During various training sessions we explained the most important organic gardening
techniques, such as crop rotation, intercropping, companion planting, the use of compost
and mulch, and the planting of nitrogen-fixing pulses and trees in and around the garden
(such as Faidherbia albida and Gliricidia sepium, where applicable for the growth of greens
rather than fruits). As part of chemical-free pest control methods, we introduced marigolds,
the African Birds Eye hot chili pepper bush, and herbs such as rosemary, basil and coriander.
We also encouraged the gardeners to experiment with indigenous forms of natural pest
repellents, which resulted in a few novel, successful applications.
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In 2013 and 2014 we took the gardeners on a field trip to Mfuwe, approx. 100 km south of
Chitungulu, which is the tourist gateway to South Luangwa National Park. Here, the
gardeners met with their colleagues who grow vegetables on a larger scale for both their
own consumption and to supply the many tourist lodges in this area. Not only did ‘our’
gardeners return from Mfuwe with many new ideas and insights, they also brought an
interesting variety of new vegetable seeds and fruit saplings with them. As another positive
spin-off of these two-day excursions we noted an increasing cooperation among the
vegetable gardeners of Chitungulu, who now often visit each other for advice or to exchange
seeds and saplings.
Our transfer of know-how also included meetings with several women groups in order to
teach them about balanced diets and the various specific health benefits of vegetables.
Apart from malnutrition (which especially affects young children), the residents of
Chitungulu struggle with other health issues, such as anemia, nightblindness, and high blood
pressure. During our information sessions, we focused on the required nutrient-intake
derived from vegetables in order to help preventing these common ailments, such as
vegetables high in iron or beta-carotene.
- 2 Vegetable seeds
Each year we provide the vegetable gardeners, at subsidized prices, with a broad selection of
vegetable seeds. Over time, the gardeners have gained considerable experience with the
cultivation of hitherto unknown vegetables (see overview on page 5). The consumption of
these ‘new’ varieties of vegetables has been actively promoted by our gardeners. As per
2016, more stringent conditions apply to the provision of seeds: the main requirement being
that all the organic gardening techniques which have been taught should be put in practice.
We have also encouraged the gardeners to start their own seed-banks in order to enhance
the gardeners’ self-reliance.
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- 3 Other input
To maximize the harvests, we have supplied additional gardening tools and so-called treadle
pumps (low-tech pumps used for pumping water from a stream or river bed) to our initial
group of organic gardeners. We will continue providing this input for a group of new
gardeners who have started experimenting with organic gardening since 2017. We also aim
to assist the gardeners with low-tech rainwater catchment systems.
- 4 Extension of the project with two school organic vegetable gardens
In 2017, two school organic vegetable gardens have been set up at the two community
schools in Chitungulu. The school veggie gardens are to serve many purposes. They present
the children with a wider choice of vegetables whilst the children are learning about organic
gardening techniques. We intend to use the produce of the gardens for school lunches
(soups), so that the children will have a wholesome meal during the cold, dry season (June-
August). Various varieties of pulses have been planted in and around the gardens, such as
chick peas, pigeon peas and cow peas – all drought-resistant, nitrogen-fixing crops which
contain a good deal of plant-based proteins.
- 5 Opening of a Crafts/Vegetable Shop
In 2017 we completed the building of a Crafts & Vegetable Shop along a scenic tourist route.
The shop is an outlet for both locally produced crafts (such as baskets made from palm
leaves) and organically grown vegetables. In addition, the shop serves as an information
centre for vegetables where the community can learn about the nutritional value of a wide
variety of vegetables. Passing tourists can use a bicycle to travel to the nearby organic
vegetable gardens where they can pick their fresh lettuce or herbs.
Impact analysis
The impact of the organic vegetable gardening project for Chitungulu is as follows:
1. A wider choice of vegetables has become available to the residents of Chitungulu.
Thanks to the gardeners’ efforts, who actively promote ‘new’ kinds of vegetables,
dietary intake has diversified;
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2. Increased awareness of the nutrition status and health benefits of vegetables,
especially with regard to health issues such as anemia and night blindness;
3. The gardeners enjoy good and stable incomes thanks to a guaranteed market for
their garden produce (apart from the local community, vegetables are also bought by
the tourist lodge Luambe Camp in Luambe National Park);
4. Raised awareness of the benefits of organic gardening methods, both in terms of
human health and protection of the environment, including awareness of the health
risks posed by the routine use of chemical pesticides;
5. The project has strengthened social cohesion: there is widespread appreciation for
the work of the gardeners and cooperation amongst the gardeners has increased.
In the pipeline
In the next few years we will take the following steps in order to increase the gardeners’ self-
reliance and their output performance:
1. Sufficient vegetable seed banks should reduce the gardeners’ dependence on
external providers of seeds;
2. Optimizing rainwater harvesting systems in the face of climate change and
unpredictable weather patterns;
3. Better protection of the gardens against wild animals, notably elephants (starting
from 2018 the gardeners will experiment with a combination of elephant barriers
such as beehives, sisal and hot chili pepper fences);
4. Scaling up the cultivation of vegetables and fruits which can potentially become the
new ‘cash crops’ such as Moringa oleifera, garlic, lemons and pawpaws.
Cooperating partners
This project was made possible with the much-appreciated assistance of:
• Private donors from the Netherlands and Germany
• Stichting Onder De Toren, the Netherlands
• Stichting Uden WereldWijd, the Netherlands
• Kenneth Kaunda Center for Practical Agriculture (Mfuwe), Zambia
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Organic vegetable gardening project Chitungulu since 2012
Vegetable/fruit Traditionally cultivated Newly introduced Popularity
Amaranthus/Bondwe x extra promoted ++
Basil x +++
Beetroot /- leaves x +++
Bush beans x +++
Butternut squash x +++
Cabbage x +++
Carrot x +++
Chick pea x (introduced in 2017) +++
Chinese cabbage x ++
Coriander x +++
Cow pea x +++
Cucumber x (introduced in 2017) not yet known
Eggplant (aubergine) x ++
Garlic x +++
Impwa (local eggplant) x +++
Lemon x +++
Lettuce (for tourists) x +
Mint x ++
Moringa oleifera x extra promoted +++
Mustard leaves x ++
Okra x +++
Onion x +++
Passion fruit x experimental
Physalis (Cape gooseberry) x +++
Pigeon pea x extra promoted +++
Rape (Brassica napus) x +++
Radish x ++
Rosemary x +++
Rucola x ++
Sesame x (introduction in 2018) not yet known
Sweet pepper x +++
Sweet potato x x (new varieties) +++
Swiss chard x +++
Tamarind x +++
Thyme x ++
Tomato x +++
In and around the organic vegetable gardens
Traditionally cultivated Newly introduced Purpose
Acacia ataxacantha x elephant deterrent
Azadirachta indica/
(Neem)
x
pest repellent,
medicinal properties
Beehives x
elephant deterrent,
pollination, honey, wax
Faidherbia albida/
Winterthorn x
soil improver, compost,
shade provider
Gliricidia sepium x x
soil improver, compost,
shade provider
Makeche x pest repellent
Moringa oleifera x
shade provider,
nutrient booster
Sisal agave x elephant deterrent, rope
Sunflower x
shade provider, compost,
edible seeds
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