Johannesburg - As part of the Bedfordview Safety Forum, an urban farm has been opened in the middle of the residential suburb.
The farm is on the former bowling fields of the Italian Club in Marais Road, Bedfordview, and was leased to the project by the club for farming – free of charge besides for water and electricity. In four months, the small farm has yielded 200kg of food, some of which is for sale to the public to sustain the rest of the farm which donates to soup kitchens and other charities.
DA councillor Jill Humphreys said the safety forum comprised a number of initiative and this was one of them.
“We donated 100 tons of food across our communities last year but realised this was not sustainable.
“Then Christine Heeb offered to start this urban farm. Most of the seed funding has come out of her own pocket,” said Humphreys.
Heeb says the urban farm has became her life and was proud of her achievements so far.
“We have only been going four months, we are still experimenting and learning lessons but I would say we have done well,” she said.
Part of the project is food exchange – the exchange of goods from other organisations which have a surplus of other products to make up food parcels.
The 1 500m² “farm” has 600m of running produce.
The produce is completely organic with her leaving certain weeds and plants to keep the soil fertile.
She even had four allotments, small pieces of the farm where people live in high-rise buildings with no gardens, can come and do their own gardening.
Heeb is also growing oak trees which are vital to the environment.
“We willingly accept donations of bags of fallen oak leaves which create a problem for the city as they block storm water drains. If people and gardeners can collect them we willingly use them as compost,” she said.
Heeb works closely with the facilities at the Italian Club – two schools, and old-age home, a restaurant and the club itself.
“We do all their recycling for our compost, but most importantly we teach children in the two schools the importance of gardening. They use old yoghurt tubs and we give them age-appropriate seedlings which they are taught to take care of. Then they come and plant them in our farm and they really enjoy it,” she said.
Of the produce, 20 %to 40% goes to food exchange programmes or is sold, 40% to donations and 20% left for the worms and birds, she jokes.
Heeb wants to see similar pockets of urban farms all over the city.
“We are not community farms or a co-operative. The country has 285 such projects with only 30 working. These have to be managed properly and they will reduce the effects of climate change because people no longer have to travel to buy veggies which will be on their doorstep,” she said.
The farm has been called Via Madonna in honour of the Italian Club most of whose members are Catholic.
“I also wanted to prove what one personal alone can do for the community. We need to replicate these small all over,” she said.
Heeb can be reached on 083 298 7896.
Members of the public can purchase fresh vegetables on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Saturdays. She supplies restaurants as well.
The Star