Botswana.A Garden In the Heart of the Village.
By Nicholas Mokwena & Terna Gyuse
By Nicholas Mokwena & Terna Gyuse
Look, there's no drama with the borehole in Mokobeng. And that's the way it should be. The village of Mokobeng has just fewer than 3,000 people staying here. Most people in Mokobeng, they are seasonal farmers. They are keeping livestock on the northern part of the village, while fields are to the south. This is to keep the animals from destroying the fields.The fields are fenced with tree branches. Those who have money, they use barbed wire. You will see mud houses with thatched roofs on the farms. But Mokobeng is slowly growing, moving forward gently. The people of this settlement are adapting to the changing world. Walls of mud and roofs of thatch in the village are now outnumbered by cement bricks and corrugated iron roofs. There is a health post, a primary school and a junior secondary school.
The village has four small general dealer shops. This gives the people here a choice of where to buy sugar and tea and razor blades and soap.There are standpipes evenly distributed in the village. This has reduced the congestion which used to be in the middle of the village, when everyone came to take water at the same time.
The village has four small general dealer shops. This gives the people here a choice of where to buy sugar and tea and razor blades and soap.There are standpipes evenly distributed in the village. This has reduced the congestion which used to be in the middle of the village, when everyone came to take water at the same time.
In the heart of the village there is a garden measuring about 50 metres square. Here a group of women have joined hands to alleviate poverty. The Ngwaoboswa Conservation Group is a group of volunteers who are making use of the village garden to grow vegetables, fruits and keep bees. They grow green pepper, spinach, tomatoes, butternuts, watermelons, orange, mango and rape. Each season they plant vegetables and fruits suitable for that particular season.
"For our garden we use the hosepipe and watering can for watering. We use groundwater. It is the only source of water in our village. It is able to sustain our watering. Most of the vegetables we grow they need to be watered regularly. Watering is done in the morning and afternoon. We have also planted flowers for our bees." These women have been encouraged by the village chief to group themselves as a form of women empowerment, to make use of the garden. Everyone was allowed to join the group, and it used to have ten members. Now the group has six. Four have opted out to join their families in towns.
"For our garden we use the hosepipe and watering can for watering. We use groundwater. It is the only source of water in our village. It is able to sustain our watering. Most of the vegetables we grow they need to be watered regularly. Watering is done in the morning and afternoon. We have also planted flowers for our bees." These women have been encouraged by the village chief to group themselves as a form of women empowerment, to make use of the garden. Everyone was allowed to join the group, and it used to have ten members. Now the group has six. Four have opted out to join their families in towns.
The Ngwaoboswa women come here all as a group only on Monday and Friday. On other days they have divided themselves into two groups of three people. These women come to the garden in the morning and leave at midday. In the late afternoon, when the heat has ceased, then they return to the garden. This is done to monitor the garden. When everything is ready for harvesting the fruits and vegetables are sold at a reasonable price. Most customers are the villagers and sometimes customer are drawn from neighbouring villages. The group shares the profit every month end. Some of the money is kept to be used when the need arises.
"Our village has plenty of groundwater. As the village develops the population will grow and we will run short of water"says Obert Thuthwa, the chief. "The water should be checked every three months. Myself as the village chief I have never seen such a report. This indicates that regular checking is not done. We need to be empowered on how to use integrated water resources so as to not exhaust one resource. Because of this lack of knowledge we cannot even manage our aquifers."
"Our village has plenty of groundwater. As the village develops the population will grow and we will run short of water"says Obert Thuthwa, the chief. "The water should be checked every three months. Myself as the village chief I have never seen such a report. This indicates that regular checking is not done. We need to be empowered on how to use integrated water resources so as to not exhaust one resource. Because of this lack of knowledge we cannot even manage our aquifers."