SIVUKILE WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION –NYANGA CHURCH FOOD GARDEN

Lungi Gazi is a qualified nurse with a passion for nutrition and women’s empowerment. She recognized the
need for women within the community to be empowered to grow and nurture their own food gardens and
therefore started Sivukile Women’s Development Organisation in 1999. She now helps run over 15 food
gardens in the Gugulethu, Langa and Crossroads townships in Cape Town. She helps groups of women
manage these gardens, empowering them to run their own businesses, sales and purchase of new seedlings
once food is harvested. The food gardens are based in various locations such as churches, crèches and high
schools which kindly donate the land and water. The vegetables are donated to the crèches to feed the children,
a small portion given to the schools where the gardens are based to supplement their feeding programmes and
the biggest portion is sold by the women who run these gardens to generate an income for themselves. Lungi is
in the process of negotiating with the Cape Province’s social development department with regards to selling
their produce to the 22 community soup kitchens. The project therefore helps skills development and creates job
for these amazing women who lovingly tender the gardens every day. The gardens are also completely
sustainable as part of the profits generated by the vegetable sales are used to purchase new seedlings and
compost.

In October 2009 heart started supporting the first of hopefully many FoodTents being built at Lungi’s community
food gardens. These FoodTents help supplement the fantastic work she is already doing there with her hard
working team of women. The first FoodTent was built in Gugulethu. She is very excited already after 6 weeks
with the spinach and cabbage plants doing very well in this environment.

There is space and a huge need for a FoodTent to be built at the Food Garden site located at Nyanga Church.
The area is completely secure and fenced off and is locked at all times. There is an existing food garden here
with a variety of vegetables. The garden is run by Aunty Vicky (see below with the help of her groups of
teenages and the church) They need the FoodTent built to help them grow additional produce to provide income
for sustain the project for example purchasing new seedlings.