On July 18th, to commemorate Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday – the Inzalo Community Projects put a project into motion which focuses on educating a local Scout Troop, about growing their own food, as well as building a sustainable income in a community affected by poverty.

We had over 200 volunteers come and lend a hand as we built the infrastructure to support the new Scout Nursery at the Thousand Herbs and Vegetable Garden in Utah.

Nelson Mandela’s 100th Birthday

This year would have marked the 100th birthday of our beloved Madiba. Each year on his birthday, we are encouraged to emulate the kindness, empathy and compassion he displayed in his own life, by taking some kind of action or offering our time or skills on a project that helps those less fortunate than ourselves.

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”– Nelson Mandela

A small start to a great future

The local Scout Programme has grown over the years from 11 members to more than 150 participants, thanks to Monica, a local resident who wanted to make sure that the children had something interesting to occupy themselves with in the afternoons and on weekends.

These Scouts will be tasked with growing seedlings, which will be sold back to the gardens – offering an income to help grow the Scouting program, while at the same time teaching these children about growing food and running a small business.

Currently the gardens purchase their seedlings from vendors further afield, so bringing this part of the business ‘closer to home’ will benefit the community as well as the gardens.

Many hands make light work

During this full day of ‘giving back’ we managed to upgrade an old hothouse into the new seedling nursery for the Scouts. We also installed tables for the seedling trays, set up irrigation and planted over 3000 seeds!

The children will also receive training from a professional horticulturist so that they can go out and show other people in the community, how to grow their own food.

Thank you to everyone who came out to help – we are very excited to see what our Scouts are able to achieve, and how these achievements benefit the community as a while.