The organic garden also serves as an educational hub, with training programmes designed to empower individuals, schools and the Southern Suburbs community of Cape Town. These programmes focus on food sustainability, nutrition and environmental stewardship, fostering a culture of self-sufficiency.
Bel Porto School in Lansdowne is home to a new community market garden aimed at fighting malnutrition and creating sustainable income for the school.
Launched on World Soil Day, observed on Tuesday 5 December, the garden is an initiative by The Sprightly Seed – a public benefit organisation (PBO) committed to environmental sustainability, social development, and education.
“The new garden is more than just a plot of land; it represents a vital step towards enhancing food security and nutrition, especially crucial in South Africa where, according to recent statistics, about 27% of the country’s children, under the age of five, experience prolonged periods of under nutrition,” says Jade Orgill, co-founder and now managing director and human development specialist at The Sprightly Seed. “The PBO aims to be a beacon of hope and a model for sustainable gardening practices in the region.”
The organic garden also serves as an educational hub, with training programmes designed to empower individuals, schools and the Southern Suburbs community of Cape Town. These programmes focus on food sustainability, nutrition and environmental stewardship, fostering a culture of self-sufficiency.
With Bel Porto being a school for special needs children, school principal Ilona Herman says agricultural studies had already been part of the curriculum.
Apart from it being very expensive, it was also unsustainable, with limited plants and needing to start over when the children left and returned for holidays.
This partnership sees the sprawling gardens used in a more effective manner, for education and income generation.
The school continues to seek projects that benefit the learners.
In a short interview with one of the caregivers at the event, Herman emphasised the anxiety caregivers experience about what learners will do after they leave school at the age of 18.
Projects like these, and vocational, sheltered employment opportunities created with other partnerships are the way to ensure employment for learners leaving school. While few options exist, the school is continuously working on projects.
A bakery started with a former learner and staff at the school is another such programme.
Orgill says this initiative creates a blueprint for a model that can assist schools with vast, underutilised land.
This plan is dedicated to fostering a connection between the earth and human kind.
“Our roadmap for our organic market garden programme at Bel Porto School is comprehensive,” she says. “It integrates key components such as experiential outdoor education, management of post-harvest processes, beneficiating garden produce into earth and people-friendly products, seamless curriculum integration, and ensuring knowledge access and inclusive skills development. This blueprint underscores our pledge to cultivate a self-sustaining environment that serves the broader community. Moving forward, we are eager to deepen our community ties through interactive workshops and collaborative partnerships, aiming to nurture and expand our initiative within Bel Porto School and across the schools in the Cape Metros.”
The Organic Market Garden has opened its doors to the public and operates pen during school hours, from 9:00 to 15:00 Monday to Friday.
This market will offer a variety of nursery products, fruits, and vegetables. A number of preserves and pickles are also available, made from items produced in the garden.
For those seeking specific items, made-to-order services are available by contacting The Sprightly Seed at 061 690 2265 or via email at thesprightlyseed@gmail.com.
