Because of circumstances like the ever decreasing size of land compounded by a lack of basic services, organizations like the Greenpeace Africa, Earthlife Africa Durban, Citizen Gardens and Green Squad Alliance, have launched a series of workshops to bring the public information about alternative ways to save money though planting their own land and how to regulate their crops in a positive way.
The 26th of April was the eighth permaculture workshop in this series; topics such as soil, permaculture, and seeds were discussed, followed by a site visit to the next potential community garden, and a visit to Frank’s Farm.
It was truly an eventful evening; each speaker shared different ways of how we all could help create change just outside our back yard.
The workshop closed off at Frank’s farm, where we were introduced to the most ecofriendly – permacultured houses in Durban and a guerrilla garden he started back in 2009. Frank Edwards, has experimented with many ideas to promote sustainable communities, as well as putting them into practice. He boasts an Earthship, inspired by architect Michael Reynolds, we saw a waterless toilet, rain-water harvesting, vermiculture and other treats at Frank's farm.
It’s amazing how much one can learn if we're willing to step out of our comfort zone and literally go outside and smell the roses, and get in touch with nature!
As Frank would say, “there’s a lot more to nature than just the usual, if only you’re willing to add a little bit of fun to it.”
Who knew that there’s a market for people who are interested in buying tiger worms (those are the worms that have darker stripes on their body, and multiply really fast if kept in cozy conditions)!
"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labour; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system." - Bill Mollison
Nokwazi Qumbisa is a Greenpeace Africa volunteer in Durban.