John Nzira - Ukuvuna - Technical Advisor

Often talked about as the 'Mr Permaculture' of Southern Africa, John has been a dedicated practitioner since the 1980's when he trained under Bill Mollinson in his native Zimbabwe. John has since taken Permaculture principals to another level, tailoring them for practical application in poverty alleviation programming, and integrating this approach with traditional African farming techniques. John has been integral in developing the training manual that GardenAfrica is using to promote greater links between health and agro-ecology, and continues as an implementing partner on projects in Swaziland, Lesotho and South Africa, which serves as his base. John's practical, no-nonsense approach is invaluable to our collective approach.

Professor Monique Simmonds - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - Scientific Advisor

Monique is head of Kew's Sustainable Uses of Plants Group, which undertakes world-wide research into the different aspects of ethnobotany, especially medicinal and pesticidal plants, plant-animal interactions, conservation of plant diversity, and sustainable use of plant resources. Monique has over 20 years experience in different aspects of economic botany, especially the chemistry of plants, and has worked in many parts of the world to ensure that local communities conserve their local knowledge about the uses of plants as well as the plants themselves. GardenAfrica continues to benefit from Monique's advice and support which contributes information and technical know-how to GardenAfrica's work.

Alastair Duncan BSc MSc PGDipD SRD - Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - HIV Specialist Dietitian and Department Manager

Alastair is one of the UK's leading HIV Dietitians. As well as working at Guy's and St. Thomas', he has been Chair of The Food Chain, and a freelance nutrition writer. He is a Winston Churchill Fellow of 2007, recently spending time in Southern Africa conducting an HIV Nutrition Information Exchange. Alastair believes that growing fruits and vegetables in home gardens or allotments not only provides foods rich in vitamins and minerals but also activity vital to building muscle tissue and maintaining a strong immune system. His website can be found at www.hivnutrition.org.uk

Venetia Bellers - SCF-UK - Operational Systems Advisor

Venetia has been working in the humanitarian field since 1998. Having worked for GOAL and Oxfam, she is currently the Emergency Preparedness Advisor for Save the Children UK. With her detailed and systematic approach to a variety of situations, from conflict, displacement, floods and earthquakes, Venetia's advice on the design of operational monitoring and reporting systems continues to be invaluable. And through GardenAfrica, Venetia is able to explore her development tendencies, particularly those related to long-term community enablement and self-sufficiency - so often lacking in the humanitarian sector.

Jeremy Smith - Ecology and Ethics

Jeremy is an award-winning writer and the former editor of The Ecologist, the world's longest-running and widest read environmental magazine. For several years he has studied and written about localised alternatives to globalisation across the world, and much of his work with GardenAfrica involves increasing public awareness and connecting it with similar grassroots initiatives worldwide. He is spending the first half of 2008 in Southern Africa researching and writing, much of which can be viewed at www.jmcsmith.co.uk

Neil Rhodes - Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants - Finance and Accounting

Leigh Brown - Schools Environmental Education & Development

Carmina Piccoli - Music Events

John Campbell - IT Solutions