09 Aug 2015

At a time when Botswana is facing water challenges, the Hunger Fighting Team in Tonota provides a model that can be copied when it comes to water conservation in farming.

Owned by 44-year-old Ms Unami Banda and Ms Felly Nyathi, 35, the Hunger Fighting Team vegetable farming project used a drip irrigation method that utilised recycled 20 litre containers to conserve water.

Ms Banda said  they began as a group of five in 2014 and received training and sponsorship from an organisation called The Healing Hands International. 

Ms Banda said that they were trained in the use of drip irrigation kits that connect to 20 litre containers, the construction of raised garden beds as well as food preservation. 

She said that they were sponsored with 15 metre drips that are attachable to 20 litre buckets for their garden. 

There is no doubt that the team’s backyard garden attracts interest from passers-by, as a day rarely goes by without a visitor who comes for a closer view of the site.

“We receive people who come to ask us about the buckets we have in our garden. 

Others come for benchmarking, and we have been invited a number of times by other farmers to help erect the bucket and drip irrigation systems at their farms,” said Ms Banda. 

Having also undergone training in entrepreneurship development with the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) in June this year, Ms Banda said the insights she gained were beneficial to their business. 

Commenting on the performance of their business, Ms Nyathi said that they rarely make a loss in their vegetables, as they pre-cook and dry extra produce for preservation to sell at a later stage. She also cited that they have so far managed to produce all their crops organically, and intend to specialise in okra, peppers and tomatoes. 

‘‘We take as much precautionary measures as possible to ensure that we are safe from any harm while working. We avoid direct exposure to the sun and dust, and also wear gloves and masks where necessary,” said Ms Nyathi.

She said although they have a larger farming area, which they wish to relocate to, the area does not have a water source. 

She added that they intend to approach the leadership in charge of the government’s poverty eradication programme in their area to notify them about their method of irrigation, which she said might possibly be valuable looking at the state of water shortage in the country. Ends