(photo credits to Lisa and Megan for the overview pictures of the key-hole gardens ... I apparently was so shocked and enthralled with the size of the cabbage growing (photo below) that I didn't get a good overview shot of the entire garden concept!)
Megan and I learned about these gardens when we attended a West Africa agriculture forum last year ... these type of gardens are designed to require less water - perfect for our desert conditions!
The compost basket in the middle provides nutrients to the soil ... this is also the location where "dirty water" is used. The use of dirty water then reduces the amount of water that women will need to draw from a well to feed their garden ... the compost and basket acting as a filter to the soap which may be in the water. The design of the garden is also built to filter the water into the soil and plants which require more water are planted in the centre, while plants requiring less water are planted on the border.
For our women in the first village area ... I have seen them come back from their water trip at 1pm in the afternoon. When I asked what time they had left: 7am was the answer .... 6 hours it takes them to get their water for the day!! Truly it would be impossible for them to draw more water to include the watering of a garden. The ability to implement a garden that uses less - and to reuse dirty - water will be beneficial to their lives.
I also know that these women are also 20 kilometres from the city ... to buy vegetables for the week, not only is it expensive (as mentioned in a previous blog post), but they are required to walk a great distance if they choose to buy these. The nearest two village markets only sell basic sauce ingredients and onions.
So - garden training it is. If these kitchen gardens are successful ... these women can implement some of the nutrition and diet diversity that we have been teaching.
We had asked the women to collect for this day: big rocks (to build the border), sand, manure, ashes, and millet stalks.
When I was out in the village between the training days - I saw that the women had all gathered together to bring in the materials. The day I was there - the women were walking back and forth from their neighbouring mountain to bring in these rocks ... carrying them on their head!!
Sadly, I was having issues with my camera this day, so the focus is off.
Stay tuned for the next post ... the building of a garden!
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