STAFF at the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), led by the acting chief executive, rolled up their sleeves and got to work showing off their green fingers on the roof of the African Diamond Building in the CBD.
They spent the day preparing and planting crops in a vegetable garden on the rooftop of the building, which is on the corner of Goud and Kerk streets. A first of its kind, the rooftop vegetable garden will promote sustainable living and food security for people living in the inner city.
Thanduxolo Mendrew, the agency’s acting chief executive, swopped his desk for the planting crew, on 6 July.
“The rooftop garden offers an opportunity to promote sustainable urban living through local food production, improved nutrition and food security for local residents, and livelihoods for some members of the inner city community, who can raise income by selling some of the vegetables,” he said.
It is a JDA corporate social investment (CSI) programme, falling under its CSI objective to support communities in the areas within which development projects are located.
Employees worked in teams; some set up planters, some prepared pallets and compost, some prepared soil for planting.
Mendrew said that in setting up the rooftop garden, scientific innovations were employed to ensure sustainable growth of the plants.
Keeping the recycle, reuse mantra in mind, the team made planters out of car tyres. Smaller tyres were used to create an earthworm bed garden to ensure a constant supply of fertiliser and compost.
Earthworms play an important role in fertilising the soil; they alter soil structure, water movement, nutrient dynamics and plant growth. They are not essential to all healthy soil systems, but their presence is usually an indicator of a healthy soil system.
Old tyres were used in the garden to encourage the culture of reusing and recycling, said Mendrew.
The JDA has worked in the inner city for over 10 years on numerous regeneration projects, such as the refurbishment of Chancellor House; upgrading commuter links and improvements to Ernest Oppenheimer Park.
Its partners in the rooftop garden are the Affordable Housing Company (Afhco) and The Greenhouse Project.
Mendrew said Afhco and The Greenhouse Project would ensure that people were trained as gardeners, to plant, grow and maintain the vegetables, and make sure the garden is well managed. The project is expected to be completed by the end of July.
The Greenhouse Project is an NGO, based in Joubert Park, that promotes sustainable construction and living strategies. The rooftop food garden was started in 2009 as a pilot project when the JDA gave a small grant to Afhco.
Alice Moloto, the agency’s marketing manager of internal communications and special projects, said Greenhouse was instrumental in providing scientific advice.