Garden of hope

Three years ago, Prof. Michael Rudolph, of Wits University, helped start a vegetable garden on a garbage heap in Bezuidenhout Park, Johannesburg. Today, the garden has 50 different fruit trees, including apples, pears, figs, plums and lemons. Vegetables include pumpkins, spinach, lettuce, potatoes and beans. Herbs such as peppermint are also grown. This garden of hope employs 15 previously unemployed people. The produce helps feed hundreds of HIV-positive people. The Siyakhana project is a model for community food gardens. It also contains a water purification and irrigation system, and a compost heap. It is supported by various departments at Wits. For more information about the project, contact Shirona Patel at 084 619 2646.