Page 1 of 5

Chitungulu Foundation community outreach - nature conservation

Project: Organic Vegetable Gardening

Background

Malnutrition in children is widespread in Chitungulu, as can be seen from various classic

symptoms of malnourishment such as underweight infants, young children stunted in their

growth and mediocre performance at school. In 2011, we met with several vegetable

gardeners in Chitungulu (mostly men). At the time, these gardeners were the laughing stock

of the village as they were laboring year-round, tending their gardens in the dry season

(May-August) instead of taking a rest from the laborious planting and harvesting season, as

everybody else does. We noted in those early years that there was limited choice in

vegetables: several local greens, Chinese cabbage, tomatoes and onions. We also noted that

there was hardly any knowledge about organic gardening techniques. Certainly alarming was

the habit of some of the gardeners to apply their left-over cotton pesticides as a pest

repellent in their gardens. On top of that, we observed that most of Chitungulu’s residents

were not fully aware of the various health benefits of vegetables.

Together with several vegetable gardeners and some women self-help groups who were

worried about malnutrition in their children, we decided to beef up the vegetable gardening

activities in Chitungulu. Obviously, our focus on organic vegetable gardening rather than

conventional, mainstream gardening emanates from the foundation’s overall goal to

encourage a sustainable use of natural resources in and around Chitungulu.

Our approach

- 1 Transfer of know-how

In 2012 we started to train some of the most diligent vegetable gardeners in Chitungulu.

During various training sessions we explained the most important organic gardening

techniques, such as crop rotation, intercropping, companion planting, the use of compost

and mulch, and the planting of nitrogen-fixing pulses and trees in and around the garden

(such as Faidherbia albida and Gliricidia sepium, where applicable for the growth of greens

rather than fruits). As part of chemical-free pest control methods, we introduced marigolds,

the African Birds Eye hot chili pepper bush, and herbs such as rosemary, basil and coriander.

We also encouraged the gardeners to experiment with indigenous forms of natural pest

repellents, which resulted in a few novel, successful applications.

Page 2 of 5

In 2013 and 2014 we took the gardeners on a field trip to Mfuwe, approx. 100 km south of

Chitungulu, which is the tourist gateway to South Luangwa National Park. Here, the

gardeners met with their colleagues who grow vegetables on a larger scale for both their

own consumption and to supply the many tourist lodges in this area. Not only did ‘our’

gardeners return from Mfuwe with many new ideas and insights, they also brought an

interesting variety of new vegetable seeds and fruit saplings with them. As another positive

spin-off of these two-day excursions we noted an increasing cooperation among the

vegetable gardeners of Chitungulu, who now often visit each other for advice or to exchange

seeds and saplings.

Our transfer of know-how also included meetings with several women groups in order to

teach them about balanced diets and the various specific health benefits of vegetables.

Apart from malnutrition (which especially affects young children), the residents of

Chitungulu struggle with other health issues, such as anemia, nightblindness, and high blood

pressure. During our information sessions, we focused on the required nutrient-intake

derived from vegetables in order to help preventing these common ailments, such as

vegetables high in iron or beta-carotene.

- 2 Vegetable seeds

Each year we provide the vegetable gardeners, at subsidized prices, with a broad selection of

vegetable seeds. Over time, the gardeners have gained considerable experience with the

cultivation of hitherto unknown vegetables (see overview on page 5). The consumption of

these ‘new’ varieties of vegetables has been actively promoted by our gardeners. As per

2016, more stringent conditions apply to the provision of seeds: the main requirement being

that all the organic gardening techniques which have been taught should be put in practice.

We have also encouraged the gardeners to start their own seed-banks in order to enhance

the gardeners’ self-reliance.

Page 3 of 5

- 3 Other input

To maximize the harvests, we have supplied additional gardening tools and so-called treadle

pumps (low-tech pumps used for pumping water from a stream or river bed) to our initial

group of organic gardeners. We will continue providing this input for a group of new

gardeners who have started experimenting with organic gardening since 2017. We also aim

to assist the gardeners with low-tech rainwater catchment systems.

- 4 Extension of the project with two school organic vegetable gardens

In 2017, two school organic vegetable gardens have been set up at the two community

schools in Chitungulu. The school veggie gardens are to serve many purposes. They present

the children with a wider choice of vegetables whilst the children are learning about organic

gardening techniques. We intend to use the produce of the gardens for school lunches

(soups), so that the children will have a wholesome meal during the cold, dry season (June-

August). Various varieties of pulses have been planted in and around the gardens, such as

chick peas, pigeon peas and cow peas – all drought-resistant, nitrogen-fixing crops which

contain a good deal of plant-based proteins.

- 5 Opening of a Crafts/Vegetable Shop

In 2017 we completed the building of a Crafts & Vegetable Shop along a scenic tourist route.

The shop is an outlet for both locally produced crafts (such as baskets made from palm

leaves) and organically grown vegetables. In addition, the shop serves as an information

centre for vegetables where the community can learn about the nutritional value of a wide

variety of vegetables. Passing tourists can use a bicycle to travel to the nearby organic

vegetable gardens where they can pick their fresh lettuce or herbs.

Impact analysis

The impact of the organic vegetable gardening project for Chitungulu is as follows:

1. A wider choice of vegetables has become available to the residents of Chitungulu.

Thanks to the gardeners’ efforts, who actively promote ‘new’ kinds of vegetables,

dietary intake has diversified;

Page 4 of 5

2. Increased awareness of the nutrition status and health benefits of vegetables,

especially with regard to health issues such as anemia and night blindness;

3. The gardeners enjoy good and stable incomes thanks to a guaranteed market for

their garden produce (apart from the local community, vegetables are also bought by

the tourist lodge Luambe Camp in Luambe National Park);

4. Raised awareness of the benefits of organic gardening methods, both in terms of

human health and protection of the environment, including awareness of the health

risks posed by the routine use of chemical pesticides;

5. The project has strengthened social cohesion: there is widespread appreciation for

the work of the gardeners and cooperation amongst the gardeners has increased.

In the pipeline

In the next few years we will take the following steps in order to increase the gardeners’ self-

reliance and their output performance:

1. Sufficient vegetable seed banks should reduce the gardeners’ dependence on

external providers of seeds;

2. Optimizing rainwater harvesting systems in the face of climate change and

unpredictable weather patterns;

3. Better protection of the gardens against wild animals, notably elephants (starting

from 2018 the gardeners will experiment with a combination of elephant barriers

such as beehives, sisal and hot chili pepper fences);

4. Scaling up the cultivation of vegetables and fruits which can potentially become the

new ‘cash crops’ such as Moringa oleifera, garlic, lemons and pawpaws.

Cooperating partners

This project was made possible with the much-appreciated assistance of:

• Private donors from the Netherlands and Germany

• Stichting Onder De Toren, the Netherlands

• Stichting Uden WereldWijd, the Netherlands

• Kenneth Kaunda Center for Practical Agriculture (Mfuwe), Zambia

Page 5 of 5

Organic vegetable gardening project Chitungulu since 2012

Vegetable/fruit Traditionally cultivated Newly introduced Popularity

Amaranthus/Bondwe x extra promoted ++

Basil x +++

Beetroot /- leaves x +++

Bush beans x +++

Butternut squash x +++

Cabbage x +++

Carrot x +++

Chick pea x (introduced in 2017) +++

Chinese cabbage x ++

Coriander x +++

Cow pea x +++

Cucumber x (introduced in 2017) not yet known

Eggplant (aubergine) x ++

Garlic x +++

Impwa (local eggplant) x +++

Lemon x +++

Lettuce (for tourists) x +

Mint x ++

Moringa oleifera x extra promoted +++

Mustard leaves x ++

Okra x +++

Onion x +++

Passion fruit x experimental

Physalis (Cape gooseberry) x +++

Pigeon pea x extra promoted +++

Rape (Brassica napus) x +++

Radish x ++

Rosemary x +++

Rucola x ++

Sesame x (introduction in 2018) not yet known

Sweet pepper x +++

Sweet potato x x (new varieties) +++

Swiss chard x +++

Tamarind x +++

Thyme x ++

Tomato x +++

In and around the organic vegetable gardens

Traditionally cultivated Newly introduced Purpose

Acacia ataxacantha x elephant deterrent

Azadirachta indica/

(Neem)

x

pest repellent,

medicinal properties

Beehives x

elephant deterrent,

pollination, honey, wax

Faidherbia albida/

Winterthorn x

soil improver, compost,

shade provider

Gliricidia sepium x x

soil improver, compost,

shade provider

Makeche x pest repellent

Moringa oleifera x

shade provider,

nutrient booster

Sisal agave x elephant deterrent, rope

Sunflower x

shade provider, compost,

edible seeds