Food Gardens in Africa

Welcome to the Slow Food Gardens in Africa, a vibrant network dedicated to fostering biodiversity, honoring traditional knowledge, and supporting small-scale agriculture across the continent. This initiative is a beacon of hope and action, working to establish many good, clean, and fair food gardens in schools and communities throughout Africa.

Why is this initiative vital? In a continent as diverse and rich in cultural heritage as Africa, the preservation of food biodiversity and the promotion of access to healthy, fresh food are essential. These gardens serve as a living classroom for the younger generation, teaching them the importance of sustainability and nutrition and inspiring a cadre of leaders who recognize the value of their land and culture and the crucial role they play in shaping the future of their countries and the African continent at large.

Empowering Communities Through Agroecology – Initiating an agroecological garden in Africa transcends traditional farming practices. It’s a profound political act that champions the small-scale farmers who form the backbone of the continent’s food production. These gardens are pivotal in strengthening local economies, preserving cultural identities, and safeguarding the environment and agrobiodiversity.

The Slow Food Gardens in Africa are not just plots of land where food is grown; they are nurturing grounds for food security, nutrition, and the celebration of indigenous crops, including traditional and heirloom varieties. Emphasizing sustainable agriculture, these gardens minimize the reliance on harmful pesticides and herbicides, conserve water, and enhance soil fertility through agroecological methods.

By engaging with the Slow Food Gardens in Africa, you’re joining a movement that does more than just cultivate plants. You’re supporting a network that educates, empowers, and ensures the sustainability of food. 

  • What We Do

    Support local communities in their journey towards a better food system

    Provide our local network with tools and guidelines to set up an agroecological garden

    Link gardeners with a wider network of colleagues from all over the continent and with trained national garden coordinators of reference, for daily support

    Empower local producers with technical trainings on agroecology

    Facilitate gardens’ education and advocacy events in the gardens

    Monitor & Evaluate the results and impact of the gardens

    Share successful stories within and outside the network through films, publications, articles, conferences and more.

  • What You Can Do

    In Africa

    Outside Africa

  • How To Set Up A Garden

    Download the Gardens Decalogue and Booklet                                

    Make sure that the gardens will be properly followed in the future. To make it thrive, we raccomend to have a group of approximately 10 people/students and a Garden Manager following the daily activities – if you don’t have a community, create one!

    This form collects the basic information on the gardens, like where it is and who manages it

    > School Gardens

    > Community Gardens

     

    Agroecology is the beating heart of SF gardens, make sure that the people managing the garden receive accurate information on how to make their own compost, multiply their seeds, enrich the soil, preserve local species of crops…the Handbook is a very helpful resource that can support you in developing a training

    The resilience of a garden increase if the gardens receive the support of the local community – spread the word and work towards a constant strengthening of the network

    Complete the forms to better understand the overall development of the garden’s activities, what is working very well and what can be improved in the future

    The F2 form, collects data on the garden (crops, management, use of natural resources..) and needs to be filled in at every cropping season

    > School Gardens

    > Community Gardens

    The F3 form aims to measure the impact of community gardens at household level, measuring income generation, food security, benefits on health and other aspects

    The Slow Food gardens network is wide and full of experienced gardeners who are very to share their knowledge, wisdom and techniques with you

Blog & news

Contáctenos

Ponerse en contacto

¿Tiene alguna pregunta o comentario para nuestro equipo? ¡No dudes en ponerte en contacto!