ANSA International Program Blog

In late February, Doug Gosling of ANSA global agency Food for Thought and Steve Bolinger of ANSA supporting partner Development in Gardening (DIG) stood in a rarely-visited informal settlement in central Namibia studying a hopelessly rocky, slanted plot of land.  Looking out over the grounds of ANSA's Namibian partner Hope Initiatives' new home, the two garden gurus saw what no one else could imagine: fresh food, and lots of it. 

Over the next two weeks Doug and Steve inspired nearly two dozen staff and volunteers to dig, rake, till and sew until the seemingly impossible patch of earth was made into a welcome space to grow fresh produce and offer education and income opportunities for the local community.  The garden was designed to be not only functional but beautiful, working with the natural slope of the land and making use of the rocks for pathways, row markers, shading and even benches.  Fourteen plastic-lined, in-ground beds were dug and planted, and an array of "garbage to garden" seedling nurseries were made out of plastic bottles, bags and tires.

Jonathan Norton from Operation Lionheart added a wonderful container garden element with a generous donation of six Earthboxes, and another 122 boxes are due to be added in April. 

Four Hope Initiatives staff - nutritionist Amkelani, gardener Petros, support group facilitator Cecilia and youth mentor Lucas Sem - and a community team of 14 men and women were trained on all key aspects of gardening, including plant selection and placement, fertilization, composting, irrigation and use of area grasses and plants.

The garden will be used to feed the hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children cared for by Hope Initiatives and to teach community members in-ground and container garden techniques.  Eventually the garden will also provide a local market option for fresh foods within the settlements.

Doug and Steve generously donated their time to share their years of expertise with the Hope Initiatives community.  We are deeply grateful to them and to Jonathan for their extraordinary contributions and we look forward to their return visits to Hope Initiatives over the years to see - literally - the fruits of their labor.  

This unique collaboration between ANSA, Food for Thought, Hope Initiatives, DIG and Operation Lionheart provided more than just an opportunity to create something useful and beautiful for people in severe need in Namibia.  It provided an opportunity for all of us to increase and strengthen our own capacity and expand our network of valuable partnerships with people and organizations doing outstanding work in Africa.  Together we and the informal settlement communities will be reaping what we've all sewn for many years to come.

Peace to all...Mary