Why do Africans need to be taught about gardening?
In rural areas, with a strong natural African farming heritage more akin to horticulture, there is an incredible knowledge about natural systems which can be traced over generations. However, this knowledge is being eroded by the importation of intensive farming practices. In such cases, the women become the sole receptacles of that most precious information. These last vestiges of knowledge are once again under severe pressure from HIV/AIDS, and other preventable diseases, resulting in the decimation of an entire generation, through which these oral traditions would once have passed. GardenAfrica and its partners are working to ensure that this knowledge continues to be passed from generation to generation – with the garden becoming the centre of renewed community exchange. African voices are beginning to be heard, calling for a re examination of conventional farming practices, as well as the terms of trade that drives the present system. There is a renewed sense of optimism, which de
