If you do what you do with love and passion, other people will see it and you will prosper.
This is the motto of Ruth and Paul Mamome. Paul is a retired MK veteran who lost his hearing while in service in Angola. After returning from exile, he struggled to find a job and he and his family experienced financial difficulty. But a passion for gardening, shared by him and his wife Ruth, helped to put food on the table when times were tough.
When ANC councillor, Thabo Olivier, was recently approached by Sun International to start up a food garden for Sun Windmill, the Mamomes immediately came to mind.
Olivier, who is passionate about reducing poverty and ensuring food security, has been setting up food gardens around the Metro for years. He knew if this project was to be a success, he had to find someone with love and passion to run the project. He remembered a beautiful garden he drove past in Lourier Park and decided to knock on the Mamomes’ door. The rest, as they say, is history.
In November last year a piece of land at Sun Windmill was identified and gardening started. Olivier says it was quite tough getting this project off the ground amidst the serious drought we are experiencing. “We made sure to use a lot of recycled material. You will see all the spinach is planted in old tyres. This helps to retain the moisture. The structure for the shading is made of irrigation pipe off-cuts we got from local farmers,” he explains.
The whole idea with this project is for the Mamomes to develop and run their garden, providing fresh produce for Sun Windmill to buy from them. Last week saw the first harvest and the gigantic spinach leaves sure made the chefs smile.
Olivier says they are producing for Sun Windmill at this stage but as the project develops they hope to also provide fresh produce to other local restaurants.
Ruth says she couldn’t believe her ears when Olivier approached them to run the garden. “Every day, when I wake up, I say: ‘God, give me the strength to do whatever I have to make these vegetables flourish’.” She says sometimes Paul wakes at 3:00 and then attends to the garden.
For more information on the project at Sun Windmill, send an email to [email protected]. – Maricelle Botha
[email protected]
