Khomanani Community Garden

We set up the Khomanani Community Garden to provide support and funding of a market garden, which is tended to by group of 21 dedicated women, alongside the maintenance and management of Mr Mapakho. Through their hard work, determination and management of this garden, the women of Khomanani support their families with fresh produce throughout the year, and they sell the excess to local villages to make a supplementary income for themselves.

Over the years, the garden has developed and now includes a borehole; pump; solar power system; 30 000-litre water storage tank; a piped water system with taps; and storage sheds.

In collaboration with AGRITEX (Agricultural Technical and Extension Services), the gardens have been further improved with development of crop plans; moisture and fertility retention methods; cropping rotations; and output market linkages. We help the community purchase seeds and necessities for the crops via a monthly subscription fee.

A fish farming project was recently added to the garden to further enhance the offering, as fish are a good source of protein. There are two large fish tanks based at Khomanani, and when the fish reach maturity they are harvested and eaten or dried to be eaten later. Excess fish is sold by Khomanani to members of the community. In 2023 and 2024, the fish harvest yielded 192 kg and 113 kg respectively.