With a nurse’s touch, Carol Lennon is establishing food gardens and championing food nutrition among queer communities.
Lennon has dedicated her life to healthcare, working for the Triangle Project, an LGBTQI+ organisation committed to eradicating discrimination and addressing food insecurity.
The gardens, found in Mbekweni and Strand in the Western Cape, are all self-managed by LGBTQI+ individuals who are empowered to take charge of their food sources.
“This has made a difference in people’s lives. When people in the community see someone starting a project, they naturally become curious. They visit, ask questions, and show eagerness to learn and lend a hand.”
“Ideally, the goal is to have gardens that will produce an income while serving a purpose to the community as well,” Lennon says.
From homelessness to empowerment
Busisiwe Ngesi, a beneficiary of these projects and director of Mbekweni’s Paarl Organic Project, crossed paths with the Triangle Project in 2022 when she was unemployed and homeless.
Thankfully, she was presented with the opportunity to initiate a garden which she eagerly embraced. The Triangle Project raised funds for her to attend permaculture classes and practicals at Seed in Mitchells Plain, in the Cape Flats.
“I’m from Mbekweni, so they ensured I had accommodation in Mitchells Plain and received a travel allowance for about six to seven months.”
The garden operates at the African Native Mission Church where they grow lettuce, spinach, beetroot, carrots, and onions.
According to Ngesi, they are dedicated to cultivating a self-sustaining garden using various gardening techniques, including the innovative use of slow-drip irrigation systems made from repurposed bottles to conserve water.
The harvested produce is distributed to those in need through their community soup kitchen.
Ngesi feels a sense of peace and purpose every time she works in the garden.
“I believe that my [hardships] happened at the right moment, in line with the arrival of new possibilities. I am at peace and growing every day,” Ngesi shares.
Bringing community together
Ngesi explains that the produce she grows is meant for the community and people often volunteer to lend a hand, from working in the gardens to helping out at the soup kitchen in the church building.
“When a community is working closely like this, it gives hope that we can achieve more than this. When other factors fail to unite us, this one successfully brings us together.”
They have aspirations of scaling up to a larger piece of land in the future, enabling them to provide sustenance to a greater number of individuals. Additionally, fruit cultivation, edible flowers, and other specialised crops are also on the agenda.
Meanwhile, Lennon says their vision is to establish food-producing gardens in every solidarity space, encompassing approximately 26 groups.
Additionally, they aim to create green space within communities where people can get together, collaborate, exchange knowledge, and actively participate as citizens, Lennon explains.
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