Posts tagged Foodsecurity
Flourishing in Villiersdorp

Marking the end of 2021, it was highlighted that partnerships, collaboration, and passionate mentors invested in their communities are the cornerstone for long-term solutions in outreach and relevant meaningful impact. This holds true to Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve team’s involvement in Villiersdorp, where we met a woman passionate about bettering the lives of children, young mothers, and pregnant girls in the community.  

Villiersdorp, an agricultural town in the fruit-packing industry of the Western was severely affected by the Covid pandemic adding to the already existing poverty problem. Through a local farmer who works closely with the community, the CWBR team distributed 100 food parcels on a bi-weekly basis and were invited to meet the key role players of the community-driven initiative, one of them being Sophy, who we later discovered was also a Flourish* Host working with young mothers.

The CWBR team visited the community-run soup kitchens, who with Sophy and a group of ladies, had grown from 3 to 10 locations to meet the rapid increase in hunger due to loss of jobs. Over 3000 individuals were fed three times a week and family members also supported the project by assisting with sanitizing, serving food, or delivering food to those who were unable to walk to the distribution points.

Recognizing that food parcels were not a long-term solution, the CWBR team was asked for assistance by Sophy to start up community gardens to promote dignity, health, nutrition, and food security within the community. Ongoing Food Security Workshops were facilitated firstly on a weekly, then monthly basis. The CWBR team helped implement two community food gardens and several private home gardens.

An additional community food garden was established last year together with the mothers participating in Flourish classes and overseen by Sophy. The harvest will contribute to a local soup kitchen and mothers with young children and babies, encouraging health and nutrition.

As the relationship has grown, so has the CWBR’s volunteer involvement in the Flourish Workshops facilitated by Sophy.

In October 2021, a mental health workshop was facilitated with the participants of the current Flourish class in honour of Mental Health Month. The workshop took place during a weekend retreat for fifteen mothers, some expecting and with young children. The Workshop was facilitated by a local psychology student and unpacked what mental health is, ways of looking after oneself and nurturing one's mental health. The mothers asked for more similar initiatives where they could share their experiences, learn more about themselves and bond.

Since then, an Athénée Action Humanitaire volunteer and a local retired teacher have become more involved in the Flourish Workshops on a bi-weekly basis. Contributing through breath-work, pre and postnatal yoga classes, presentations on health and nutrition, and teaching jewellery making as an alternative form of income. The programme culminates in graduation ceremonies for the mum and baby, as well as a much-needed baby shower. 

An outing for the most recent Flourish mums was arranged in April at the farm in Franschhoek. The mothers were inspired to grow their own veggies, made a toy mobile for their babies, and had time to enjoy the beautiful environment at the farm and the sound of the birds. Each mother received a gift pack with seedlings and a pregnancy journal.   

Not forgetting the men in the families, a workshop was also hosted for the fathers of the children earlier in the year by Sophy, fostering the importance of their presence and bond with their child.

Through this collaboration, and what the CWBR team has learned from the community, additional funds have been raised to implement a project addressing the rise in young pregnant girls since the start of the pandemic; the Yvonne Zeimen Young Mothers Support Programme. Via the Blossom Café, the CWBR will organize a mobile support system to reach out to these pregnant girls and young mothers in the different communities. It will be a space to bond, learn new skills, and offer time with a psychologist who is not from the community. This project will build onto an existing service of Flourish hosts, who are a partner of the team. Partnerships also include school educators, social workers and local NPO.

The project was introduced at a local primary school to girls from grade four to seven and the first visit with the Blossom Café is due to take place later this month.

It is a privilege to know and work together with such dedicated women who are involved in their own community’s health, dignity, and future.

* Flourish is an NPO who, through trained hosts, facilitate post and prenatal classes for young pregnant mothers and mothers with young children. Focusing on the first 1 000 days of a child's life. They support and empower mothers to establish a solid foundation for their baby’s success, health, and wellbeing.

A peek at Sophy’s garden at home and the Flourish Community Garden which have a variety of vegetables growing. The CWBR team assists with Food Garden Workshops regularly and provide seedlings on a needs basis.

The First Planting of the Season

The Science Bus Trailer made its first appearance on an outing this month at a Community Farm Day in Jamestown. USIKO, our joint project partners, invited us to attend and participate in their event which was held in celebration of their 20th anniversary.

The day was jam packed with a host of exciting workshops and activities for local community members to partake in. The event was also open to the public who were encouraged to drop in, get involved and learn more about USIKO Stellenbosch, Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve (CWBR), and be introduced to new educational possibilities and activities taught using the Science Bus Trailer. As well as find out more about USIKO and CWBR’s joint project, Mobile Minds.

A BRIEF TOUR

As people arrived, they first came upon the Science Bus Trailer, affectionately known as STEAMY (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and maths). The Trailer was used to assist in several activities throughout the day including presentations about the CWBR, teaching kids from the local Jamestown community how to fly a drone as well as taking a closer look at the beauty of the Simonsberg Mountains and surrounds through binoculars and a telescope.

As they walked further on in the USIKO Hub, they came across B Thomas, a CWBR facilitator, who taught them about propagation and seedlings, the correct way to plant seeds and how to upcycle rubbish in ways that can used in one’s food garden.

Since it was first launched, 8 months ago, the USIKO Hub has developed into a versatile space for learning and skills development. The space features a large Food Garden where seedlings were planted on the day to commemorate the anniversary and welcome in the new planting season. Z Lager facilitated the planting.

L De Jager, a current FGASA and Life Skills Culture guide student [and CWBR facilitator since 2015], taught children and adults how to evaluate the quality and health of a river system by observing and identifying the invertebrate species inhabiting them. Using the Minisass Method (Mini - Stream Assessment Scoring System). The participants tried out the minisass practice on the swales surrounding the rows of vegetable beds. And found tilapia and water skeeters.

Down by the river, the rhythmic sound of drumming could be heard. USIKO facilitators encouraged members of the public to participate in a drumming circle and later lit a ceremonial fire aiming to reconnect people with nature.

We would like to thank USIKO for hosting such a great event and allowing us to be part of the day’s festivities. We will be collaborating with them on future events this year in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Man and Biosphere Programme, and UNESCO’s 75th.

M Heistein, CWBR CEO, sharing insight of the Science Bus Trailer and the CWBR

M Heistein, CWBR CEO, sharing insight of the Science Bus Trailer and the CWBR

With a hand full of spinach, freshly picked from the garden, enjoying binoculars and a telescope

With a hand full of spinach, freshly picked from the garden, enjoying binoculars and a telescope

A lesson on soil mix, and how to plant seeds correctly in trays

A lesson on soil mix, and how to plant seeds correctly in trays

Observing the invertebrate from the river with a magnifying glass

Observing the invertebrate from the river with a magnifying glass

The Soul of Soil

Do we really appreciate soil as we should? That skin on the surface of the earth, which takes so long to grow, is extremely fragile, and yet without it there would be no living things.

Everything we wear, live in, drink, read and use, ultimately comes from soil. It hosts our food supply, filters water for clean rivers, creates amazing landscape and should be revered as the most complex ecosystem on the earth.  

It is also the warehouse of excess carbon, kept full by plants that take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis, and produce carbon, essential to plant growth. When plants and other dead organic matter enter the soil, it becomes food for microbes that produce enzymes which convert the soil carbon back into carbon dioxide that goes back into the atmosphere. Fungi and bacteria, both decomposers ensure the right consistency of biomass, which together with minerals are the building blocks of soil.

This is how it should be!

But ignorance and greed have played havoc with huge areas of land, rendering the soil into nothing more than lifeless dirt. Once we have eradicated the living soul of soil, it is a long process to restore it. It took millions of years to make, but with good management and the right boost, it is amazing how it will regenerate itself.

Chemical fertilizer is salt-based, and kills the living organisms, which results in more and more industrialised nutrients required. Good for some pockets, but a killer to any ecosystem because the balance between living organisms has been compromised, demolishing eco systems. A system that is addicted to fertilisers, cannot be sustainable. It is sick, gets more symptoms and becomes susceptible and easy prey to pests.

This not only effects the plants, but has a direct effect on our health. Plants grown in dead soil, lack the minerals, vitamins, proteins and the multitude of other nutrients our bodies need. But no problem for Mr big pocket, he will sell us all of this in a capsule!

Destroyed soil does not host natural forests, so essential for the water cycle. Coastal forest absorb mist blown in from the sea, and feed the soil, as well as through transpiration feed the onshore wind with more water. Which is then fed to the next forest further inland, and then onto another. Through this process water is passed on to inland forest across the world. Destroy coastal soils, and the knock-on effect will cause desertification thousands of kilometres inland. Desert don’t produce much food!

Technology has allowed for positive scientific information to be shared with such a broad sector of society, allowing so many more people to realise that soil is an integral part of us. There is a new exciting awakening to the importance of preserving it in its natural form, and reversing the damage that has been done.

As Biosphere Reserves, with all our partners have been doing all we can to encourage this “soil” revitalisation awareness. Please come and join us.

Soil to Seed to Success

In the recent months, the CWBR has visited communities in Villiersdorp, McGregor, and Paarl to support and provide opportunity for skills development in keeping food gardens.

Additionally, revisited NOAH, an old age home in Woodstock Cape Town, to help maintain and transform their open space into a fully producing garden.

Each space visited has been assessed to see how value can be added with practical and available resources and out of the box thinking. Outings to neighbouring Community Gardens with which the CWBR is involved, have taken place to expose the individuals and groups to practices and possibilities of implementation in their own space.

A programme and management system has been put in place to make the food gardens successful. Mentors within the community are essential for community involvement and the success of a flourishing space.   

The aim of the program is not only to teach food gardening as a means to feed one’s self and family, and possibly to other members of the community, but to inspire and excite participant in the wonder of plants. How they grow and form partnerships with bacteria, what is their place and roles are within ecosystems, how they communicate in order to thrive. What companion planting is, crop rotation, water and nutrient cycles, and what nutritional value each plant has to offer. How they are best preserved, the amazing flavours they add to meals, and how they can possibly bring an income.

Although there is a schedule of content, the course is adaptable and takes into account each person individual and group interest and circumstance, so the knowledge can be used in implementing individual gardens aligned to their resources, and can be rolled out to neighbors, friends and broader family members.

Enthusiasm, amazement, lots of enjoyment and fun is key to fostering an appetite to learn more.

A space with a beautiful view. The Hawaqua Community Garden in Paarl will be maintained by the youth.

A space with a beautiful view. The Hawaqua Community Garden in Paarl will be maintained by the youth.

Proud to Share video launched

The CWBR has created a short film, on The Health and Nutrition Programme, which has been featured as part of UNESCO’s Proud to Share campaign. The video has been published on the UNESCO website and available to view on several social media platforms.

Links to featured video:

UNESCO Facebook Youtube Twitter

All around the world, incredible people are working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The #ProudToShare campaign by UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) aims to share their stories and show how communities are making a difference in Biosphere Reserves.

A New Space for Learning

With the outbreak of Covid-19, which has drastically interfered with education, health, and has changed methods of communication. Adaptive thinking towards the educational projects will have to include new circumstances and heath practices.

The CWBR has revised the hands-on educational projects to include exciting new ways of engaging and teaching environmental, science and communication subjects.

The Mobile Classroom and the Nutrition and Health Programme

With the onset of the world pandemic, schools have been closed, further widening the gap between those who have access to on line education and those who do not. Many migrant workers have been stranded without work, adding to the poverty in the area.

The Mobile Classroom, a versatile educational tool that merges practice and theory, will focus on Health and Nutrition Programs, which includes food systems, and gardens, but will include various other aspect of science where possible. Helping to create and foster access to spaces that effectively bridge STEM

(science, technology, engineers, mathematics) education with practical applications in rich, healthy, social, cultural and ecological contexts.

Complimenting and building upon the national school syllabus, the lessons will be taught through practical tasks in a fun and engaging way in different pristine environments. Collaborations with schools will be developed to enhance school education in rural areas and become a support to teachers. 

The program will also build a meaningful and generative cross-cultural exchange program between overseas and local partners, and the CWBR. It will promote healthy living, empathy, cultural understanding, and collaborative capacities during the Pandemic period. This will be done through an online platform where films, podcasts, and educational material used will be created and shared between youths and facilitators local and overseas. Connecting learners across the world in a cultural and ecological context.  

As part of this programme, dedicated community STEM educators will be trained and equipped with the necessary tools to facilitate STEM classes for youth and young adults. Film making and podcasting skills will also be taught as a means broadening the outreach of the programme and to build the online platform. 

Nutrition and Health Programme

The programme focuses on distribution of food parcels to the neediest, food supply to soup kitchens and feeding programmes in need of additional support, Covid-19 practices and protocol, food garden production, and nutrition programmes.

The CWBR currently supports 145 families, elderly, and disabled, whom do not have access to other means of support, with bi-weekly food parcels. The parcels contain the basic needs for a healthy diet.

With recognition that the consequences from the pandemic will not be resolved soon, the CWBR is fostering a ‘self-help’ mentality through food garden programmes. Empowering individuals within the communities, youth and young adults, to develop more sustainable local food systems that help ensure food security. This is done through food garden workshops in a donated communal garden space where practical application is taught. Individual gardens are then installed and visited during follow up workshop sessions. 

The CWBR Hub Nursery produces over 60 000 seedlings monthly. A portion of the seedlings are planted at the CWBR Hub to contribute to Soup Kitchens, and distributed among individuals, communities during workshops. Seedlings have also been donated to the implementation of the USIKO Nursery and Hub in Jamestown, to support the marginalized in their area.

The Nutrition and Health Programme is currently implemented in Paarl, Villiersdorp Mbekweni, Stellenbosch, and Franschhoek.

In partnership with Athénée Action Humanitaire, the mobile educational classroom program has been in development since 2018.