The wetland filled bird sanctuary has long been home to some local vegetable farming. I've never seen much happen there, but what was revealed behind the untidy dense grass of the open land just outside of the shopping precinct was astonishing.
Our town is home to many unkempt public spaces and 'parks' which council completely ignores and doesn't maintain at all. Scruffy overgrown grasses, shrubs, weeds and alien plants grow ever higher and present a poor town image to say the least.
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| Would you think a thriving enterprise lies beyond the curb? |
To be honest, if I hadn't noticed the passerby call out as I walked by I wouldn't have seen the gogo hidden in the green. Even then, it meant nothing to me. But returning few minutes later, I noticed the passerby taking a bag of vegetables from gogo and handing over some money. The penny dropped.
That straggly, overgrown green belt was more than a patch of council neglect - an enterprising old lady had painstakingly cleared some ground and planted mealies, pumpkins and sweet potatoes, which she sells to passers by. Simply brilliant.
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| Secret Food Garden |
I went back that afternoon to photograph this little gem and speak to gogo, eager to find out her story. Who is she? How many people does she support? When did she start this venture? Sadly, though, she'd gone, her day's business finished.
But while I drove around, comparing and photographing patches of open land, I discovered two more hidden food gardens, and couldn't help beaming in delight.
Deprived and neglected by a previous government, gogo has been failed again by the current one. Social grants unable to fill the yawning chasm of survival costs, and the possibility that she is raising aids-orphaned grandchildren, gogo has squared her shoulders, picked up her hoe and just got on with looking after her own with her food garden.
Don't pity her - instead feel awe and inspiration at her strength. Not for her the pathetic sitting back, hand outstretched, waiting for someone else to fill her cup. And her hard work provides residents with fresh, organic, seasonal and local food in a way that supermarket chains can't.
It was interesting to note how other residents were dealing with the messy open space across the road. Indian shot (Canna indica) may look pretty, but is an invasive Category 1 alien from the Caribbean, acknowledged to be a problem in Mpumalanga. Good choice!
Yes, it looks neat and orderly and rightly the homeowners have taken ownership of the council neglect and are making an effort. But invasive aliens? Why not plant a pavement food garden, signposted for people to help themselves, like a Parkmore resident has done? She got national press coverage for her efforts and has proved it is sustainable.
Viva Gogo!
The residents living across from this open land have planted category 1 aliens to 'beautify' the area
