After I learned a lot about container gardening from Prof. Dr. Willem Van Cotthem in Belgium, my life has changed for a better, because in otherwise useless plastic bottles and plastic bags I can now grow vegetables to produce food for my family, as well as beautify my home with beautiful flowers. At the same time, I am cleaning the environment around my house.
Now my fellow villagers in Piyasani village in the outskirts of Lilongwe city are flocking to my house to learn about this new initiative. In November this year, I started collecting tree seeds from the surrounding remaining forest. As the rain has started, I am planning to set up a community nursery for tree seedlings using the container gardening method. With this plan I hope to be able to donate these tree seedlings to a school, so that the children will be able to plant a school woodlot. At the same time, this will motivate schools to start the same initiative, as it is one of the cheapest methods for agriculture and reforestation for the poorest countries in Africa. No capital is needed, since you can do this project around your home.
I have a lot of photos on this project. They will be sent to Professor Willem so that other people can learn something about the importance of container gardening through his blog.
Apart from container gardening, I am also doing vegetable farming at a small scale for sale and for feeding my family with nutritious meals.
However, I am looking for well-wishers and donors who can come forward and assist me in buying a piece of land which shall become an Education Centre for container gardening in Malawi. Anyone who is interested can either e-mail me at patdimusa@yahoo.co.uk or call me at +2659028290.
May God bless Professor Willem Van Cotthem for introducing this kind of initiative to the people of Africa.
Patrick Harry DIMUSA – Piyasani Village, Malawi.
