Choosing seeds: Ian Martin from England's Eden Project talks about the fruits and vegetables available for cultivation. He helps participants choose which seeds to sow in their gardens.

The garden project local team has recently expanded and now includes two field workers from the region who are employed full-time and four San garden representatives in training. The full-time team have been trained in leadership, project management, garden construction and maintenance. The representatives are receiving training and mentoring in garden management and project supervision and will form a local garden project committee. They are responsible for conveying feedback between the beneficiaries and the project team and assisting the beneficiaries in finding solutions to technical and/or social problems associated with the project.

The field team, with whom the trainees are currently working, includes Abraham Motlhaping (Assistant Coordinator) and Joseph Bessa (field technician). This on-site team are supervised by GDF’s regional coordinator Hattie Wells and Komeho staff, Gabriel Hangara and Bethel Kazapua.
We are anticipating the arrival of our new horticultural volunteer Simon Stronach in early September.

Garden workshops: Gardeners talk about and learn techniques for sowing and tending their new plants. Namibian rural development partner, WIMSA taught how to plant different types of seeds.
Hello! Kalahari Gardens is new to blogging, and despite having been up and running as a project for over a year now, this is our first post. So, we have lots of news.........

We are happy to report that the planting of the gardens between September 2007 and June 2008 has been extremely successful. Despite initial adversities that arose concerning the water delivery in two of the villages we are working in, 18 gardens have harvested pumpkin, squash, carrots, beetroot, spinach, maize, tomatoes, beans, turnips, cabbage, kale, chili peppers, onions and watermelons over the year. 29 gardens have been built, but 11 of these have only recently been constructed and are waiting for the next planting season for sowing their seeds.

The gardens are 10 x 14 meters and have strong, livestock proof fencing and eight rows of tilled sand improved with dung and ash. Seasonal vegetables are grown and each garden has two fruit trees (fig, pomegranate or clementine). The beneficiaries are extremely enthusiastic about the project and are keeping their gardens well maintained.

The project team has recorded harvest data and foods eaten from the garden during this period, which suggests that diets have improved significantly with the addition of these foods to the daily staple of maize porridge. Some of the larger food crops such as watermelons and pumpkins have been sold locally, bringing in additional household income.