Kutlwano Magazine

Backyard Gardening: Just what the doctor ordered

Source : Kutlwano

Author : Idah Basimane

Location : Kopong

Event : interview

Tshetlha Tsimane, a 50-year old disadvantaged person of Kopong village in the Kweneng district, is not perturbed by the sweltering autumn heat as he tills soil in his backyard garden. Undoubtedly living by the religious adage that Man shall live by the sweat of his brow, Tsimane is neither perturbed by the approaching team of Kutlwano reporters.

The man can be forgiven for his sense of purpose because he is, as it turns out, actually realising his long-time dream of running an income-generating activity such as a backyard garden to sustain his life. As he would have it, Tsimane has benefited from government’s recently introduced backyard gardening initiative aimed at eradicating poverty among Batswana.

“You know, I was shocked and very happy at the same time. It was a mixture of feelings,” says Tsimane, in an interview with Kutlwano recently. Born with some physical disability, Tsimane says he believes that the days of suffering are now over. “I have long wished to start an income generating activity such as this one to support myself,” he says spiritedly.

With both his parents late, Tsimane, who now lives with his sister, has been surviving by mending people’s shoes for a small fee. Unfortunately, he says, cobbling was not profitable particularly because only very few people brought shoes for repairs.As such, when he was told that he qualified for the backyard gardening initiative, it was perhaps something beyond his wildest dreams.

The actual handing over of production materials such as garden and irrigation tools, as well as seeds, among other things, was done in July last year at the village kgotla, under the auspices of government officials and village leaders. As Tsimane was the first resident of Kopong to become a beneficiary of the initiative, many fellow residents were also present to witness the rare event.

The opportunity, which promises to be a turning point in the poor man’s life, could not have come at the right time. Tsimane says his life had always been characterised by everything that makes living a worthless option to consider. Now, in line with government’s calculated crusade against poverty, he says he will use the opportunity of backyard gardening as a stepping stone to a better life. “Now there is every reason for me to go on living,” he says with apparent hope. He perceives government’s poverty eradication drive as a viable effort that should be sustained.

“As long as we do not abuse it, definitely the programme has the potential to sustain poor people’s lives,” he argues. Tsimane says now that government is playing its part by providing an enabling environment for food production, what remains is for them (citizens) to work hard to produce food.

The backyard garden scheme, which is President Lt. Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama’s brainchild introduced towards the end of 2009, is a government initiative through which deserving individuals are identified and funded for a backyard garden. Currently there are 317 people who have embraced and benefited from the programme around the country, according to the director of Poverty Eradication, Rebecca Kgosi.

As with other government assistance schemes, the intention, according to Kgosi, is to ultimately rid people of poverty. As such, Tsimane encourages other beneficiaries to utilise the programme fully to improve their standard of living. Unfortunately, Tsimane is not happy that the vegetable seedlings he received from agriculture officials last year did not last long as they were attacked by pests.

However, he says he has since been advised on better ways of farming, which include use of inter-cropping and pest control chemicals to control pests. Kopong-based agricultural official, Bapsy Baraki, says Tsimane was identified through local social workers as deserving of the backyard garden programme.

Since that time he has received a shade net, two fairly big water tanks, a drip- kit, and garden tools, all of which constitute standard equipment that comes with the programme.Baraki says although the intention is to assist 40 more potential beneficiaries within Kopong, they have so far managed to identify only two. The residents, he says, have shown interest in the programme, only that some of them do not qualify for the programme”.

The maxim that Disability is not inability is certainly true since Tsimane, who is apparently not troubled by his physical disability, looks forward to reaping the fruits of his toil to feed himself. As he toils in his new garden, hope is that as many deserving Batswana as possible will be able to utilise the programme to improve their lives.