What’s a keyhole garden? June 4, 2008
Posted by Rethabile in food and water, lesotho.Tags: keyhole garden
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“Lesotho cannot wait for the UN food summit in Rome to come up with ideas, so it has developed some of its own. Mahaha Mphou does not know much about global economics, but she does know how to grow vegetables. 
She and the rest of her family of 10 have become some of the most enthusiastic evangelists for a home-grown idea that has almost certainly saved them from starvation.”
[more...]
What’s a keyhole garden? Look at this video.
“According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) report, issued on 12 June 2007, an estimated 410,000 people of the country’s 1.9 million inhabitants will struggle to meet their basic food needs
due to extensive crop failure after experiencing one of the most severe droughts in the last 30 years. Environmental damage caused by over farming and soil erosion compounds the problems associated with drought.
World Vision and partners has introduced an innovative
pilot project called keyhole gardens, to explore ways of improving the health and livelihoods of people through suitable sustainable farming and water harvesting techniques.
The techniques taught are specifically designed to increase the fertility and water-holding capacities of soil. The introduction of manure, combined with knowledge in how to compost and create double-dug beds and keyhole gardens, for instance, has led to farmers experiencing up to five-fold increases in crop yields.
[more...]“
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This reminds me very much of a similar project started without permission by the community under disused power lines in Cape Town’s townships. The project is so successful that it is now one of the sights that tour busses are taken to see! What I love most about ordinary African people is their ability to make a plan and improve their own circumstances. If only the politicians could be the same!
Jeanne,
I’m basing my hopes for a better tomorrow on this ability you describe.
The time has arrived when we all need to think about being more self-reliant and growing our own food. The government does not care about us and will not come to our rescue when food becomes so expensive that we can’t afford it. Oil prices are on the rise (as usual) and so food transportation costs are soaring, making prices even higher in the grocery stores. These keyhole gardens are perfect for anyone with a small plot of land and the determination to be self-sufficient. I live in Arizona, and look forward to making such a garden as soon as I get out of this apartment. It would be perfect for our arid environment and would use little water compared to a regular garden. Also, there are lots of stables where I could get manure!