Indigenous knowledge-based vegetable garden projects for poverty alleviation in South Africa

Abstract

This paper is based on a case study, which investigated the challenges and prospects of sustainability of indigenous knowledge-based vegetable garden projects in the Lekgophung village in the North-West Province, South Africa. The garden projects were initiated by rural women to use their local knowledge of farming and indigenous plants to alleviate their poverty situation. The study found that the sustainability of the project has been hampered by lack of project managerial skills, limited participation of the community youth, la ck of commitment of project members due to irregular remuneration, problems of financial accountability, r ampant theft and lack of sustainable support from by government and other developmental agencies. Among the recommendations advanced include improved incentive strategies to attract youth participation and a holistic approach to human resource capacity building. This should also involve cooperation and coordination between projects to share experiences and scarce resources.