Bustani ya Binadamu
A permaculture farm
Bustani ya Binadamu
Bustani ya Binadamu means Garden of Humanity in Swahili and is the name of the five-acre plot of land that VALITA purchased in 2011. Kaya is located on Bustani ya Binadamu.
Reverence for Life UK has supported this project by:
- Providing the funds to purchase the plot of land.
- Carrying out a land survey and making a site map.
- Fundraising for a bore hole to pump the ground water and a water storage system.
- Funding two members of VALITA to attend a permaculture course at the Practical Permaculture Institute in Zanzibar.
- Providing funding for tools to farm the land.
The vision for this project is to transform the land into a green oasis and create a space that is beneficial for the community and nature.
The Permaculture course taught VALITA how to best improve the land by cooperating with nature in an ecological and sustainable way. They learnt how to carefully divide the land into planting zones and how to naturally improve the fertility of the soil. The course covered plant classification, animal husbandry, bee keeping and the development of natural remedies.
Bustani ya Binadamu now runs as an environmentally sustainable farm that grows fruit and vegetables, and rears chickens, pigs and catfish. At the heart of the plot is a wild zone where native plants have been left to grow undisturbed, in harmony with the rest of the ecosystem.
