Localised economic development
GardenAfrica works with communities to help them to diversify their productivity to include a wide range of foods, value-added products and services to stimulate localised trade, with benefits for the community and their environment.
Rural Community Gardens foster localised economic development and a focus for community driven exchange for the sharing of indigenous knowledge systems between generations.
Whilst the initial objective of each garden project is to meet immediate community needs, surplus food produced is sold locally, improving health and promoting positive livelihood opportunities. In addition projects will give practical assistance to those seeking livelihood enhancement, and support a wide range of income generation schemes. Workshops offer skills training for small-scale horticulture, nursery and smallholder management, and small business producing environmental products and services, such as rainwater tanks, guttering, composting toilets, solar architecture, seed banks, propagation of multi-use plants, onsite building material technology, soft technology (water wheels, windmills etc) - all of which can be produced and sold locally.
This is technology applied most appropriately to the environment and culture it is intended to support. In practice, it is often something that might be described as using the simplest and most benign level of technology that can effectively achieve the intended purpose.
These technologies also offer opportunities for income generation through small enterprise development schemes. The nature of GardenAfrica's projects offer a unique opportunity for further research, development, and implementation of technologies appropriate and beneficial to sub-Saharan Africa.
A related term, intermediate technology, refers specifically to tools that whilst costing more, are more sophisticated or complex than those currently in use in-country - less costly, and more accessible than those ordinarily used. Relatively low capital cost and maintenance requirements are of prime importance - as these would ideally be locally maintained. These technologies are integrated at every level of GardenAfrica projects, including:
- Appropriate social plant use - multi-use plants for medicine, food, fodder and natural pest deterrence.
- Value-added food processing and storage for income generation.
- Soil stabilising - through species selection, drainage, terracing and intercropping.
- Conservation and resource management.
- Irrigation, water harvesting and grey-water recycling.
- Micro-hydro plants, solar architecture, biomass, thermal transfer and small-scale wind power.
Please look at GardenAfrica's Practical Gifts for Fellow Gardeners to see examples of appropriate technology which increase productivity, such as chicken tractors.
