Afternoon in an urban foodgarden

Genesis of Siyakhana Garden
The premise for the Siyakhana Garden Project grew out of the observation that food insecurity was prevalent in the inner city communities of Johannesburg served by the mobile dental service of the Oral Health division of the Health Promotion Unit at University of Wits. The impact of malnutrition, in particular access to fresh fruits and vegetables, was visible in the high rates of periodontal and other gum diseases. In an attempt to begin to address some of these issues, community gardening models were examined and thought to be a way to improve access to fresh produce, even in the urban setting of Johannesburg.


The principle of permaculture was invoked as a way of preventing the project to be under constant danger of collapse due to funding constraints, since ideally, a well-established permaculture project should not require much ongoing financial input. A consortium of sixteen NGOs and Early Childhood Development Centers (ECDCs) were recruited from the region with the idea of making the project a joint effort between the university and those that would eventually benefit from it.

In 2007 the overall goal of the project had been revised to reflect the expanding diversity of activities and reads as follows: “establish a model permaculture food garden system for food production, education, research and empowerment of the community (particularly women) through training, employment and income generating opportunities. This will ensure and nurture the development of a sustainable and productive environment necessary for the improvement of the health, social and economic status of the inner city community.”

The Impact of Urban Food Gardens on the Health of Communities : an Evaluation of the Siyakhana Bezuidenhout Park Permaculture Project in Johannesburg, South Africa, Master's program in Global Public Health, 2007–2008 Capstone Project New York University.