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- Geronimo de Klerk, 18, and Valentino de Klerk, 20, started a fruit and vegetable garden in Elsies River.
- The initiative supports a number of local feeding projects in Cape Town.
- The Western Cape government has supported the establishment of 1 249 household gardens, 27 community gardens and eight school gardens over the past three months.
Two brothers from Elsies River in Cape Town are digging deep to help feed their neighbours after converting a dumping spot and area previously used as an escape route by criminals into a flourishing community garden supporting several feeding projects.
Geronimo de Klerk, 18, and Valentino de Klerk, 20, proudly showed off their work to Western Cape Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer, who visited the fruit and vegetable garden outside the Trinity Place flats last week to see their progress.
The brothers said they started the initiative to help deal with what they call the hunger crisis on the Cape Flats.
"We've witnessed that funding for many feeding schemes has started drying up due to the effects of Covid-19, and this is very sad," Geronimo said.
The open space in Elsies River has been transformed into a community garden supporting several local feeding projects in the area. The brothers have been granted access to an additional 10 open spaces.
"We intend to establish food gardens in each of them to help out youths. The high level of unemployment in the area limits their access to resources. The garden, however, provides a place for youth to contribute positively to food security and climate change while at the same time acquiring skills."
The De Klerk brothers said youth unemployment in the area is very high and has increased dramatically during the lockdown period.
Meyer said over the past three months the provincial government has supported the establishment of 1 249 household gardens, 27 community gardens and eight school gardens.
"Food security is a fundamental human right. On this basis, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture initiated its One Home, One Garden Campaign last year to support households, schools and communities to produce their food," he said.
"Over the next financial year, the [department] will implement 1 800 household gardens in impoverished communities across the province to enhance household food security.
"This is a revolution that we are starting here in the Western Cape."
During his visit, Meyer handed over gardening equipment, seeds, fertiliser, wheelbarrows, compost and a water tank with a capacity of 10 000 litres.
Before starting the initiative, the brothers, together with other locals, underwent agricultural training. They said 33 fruit trees are growing in the garden, as well as a variety of vegetables, including potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and green peppers.
They also have a keen interest in community development. During Meyer's visit, Geronimo spoke to him about the issues plaguing his neighbourhood.
"We spoke to the minister about how the garden initiative started and how it can become a source of job creation for the unemployed youth in the community," he said.
According to Geronimo, the MEC has promised to invite the brothers to the Western Cape legislature and the Elsenburg Research Farm.
"We hope the Department of Agriculture can support us to make this project a success within the Elsies River community because food and food security (are) always important," he said.
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