Innovative keyhole gardens – fighting hidden hunger in Chimaniman

 

Mrs Mutambara moves around her garden plucking different vegetables in her garden which she collects in her small basket. At various intervals, she stops to do a little weeding and to savour the scent of various sweet  smelling herbs in her garden. One is immediately struck by the uniqueness of her garden. It is raised up to waist level, made of stone and had hole in the middle where the family pours water used for various chores in the home. The new innovation, called a key-hole garden  , a key hole shaped garden raised to the waist and made up of locally available materials. The garden, which is often divided into six sections, allows the user to add scrap vegetables, manure and grey water  into a composting basket that sits at the centre of the garden.

 

Above- Mrs Mutambara in her garden

 

 

 

 Mrs Magaret Chikohwa- Mutambara  resident under Headman Ngani in Chimanimani District is one of the farmers who have adopted the concept. She said, “ I am very happy with the keyhole garden  intervention brought by SIRP. After attending training under SIRP, I came back and informed my family about the intervention. They liked the concept and we then started construction of our own key hole garden.We have witnessed some positive changes brought by thus intervention, principally the diversity in nutrition. The most positive thing is that the garden helps us to prevent nutrient deficient diseases such as anaemia and other vitamin deficient diseases while building our immunity.”

We divided our garden into different sections where we grow herbs, beetroot, spinach, rape, carrots, Russian okra. Among the vegetables we also grow shallot onions and oregano which emit a beautiful scent as well as repelling  pests.  We fenced our garden with locally available materials.

Another  positive thing about this garden for us who are now inching towards being old age is that we can do our work while standing. The garden does not strain us in terms of water. After washing our dishes, bathing or doing laundry, we take the grey water and use it to water the garden through the filter in the centre. We no longer throw away most of the waste from the home as it can be recycled in this garden. The bones from the beef and chicken that we consume provide calcium, the ash provides potash while old iron sheets provide iron. This garden has generated a lot of interest within the community. Community members come here to learn about how to construct the garden. I am happy that the community is copying what we have done here and they are replicating the garden in their homesteads.