What is Urban Agriculture?
Our commitment to enabling orphan and vulnerable children live in their communities requires a sustainable approach. Many of the carers are aunts, uncles and other members of the orphan’s extended family. In order for the child to be looked after, the family will require financial and other support. Food insecurity remains a huge concern for Ethiopians. Some urban dwellers do produce food, but it is often not balanced or plentiful enough to avoid malnutrition.
JeCCDO’s urban agriculture training allows people with limited
income to grow fresh fruit and vegetables in a small area using
organic methods and employing principles of biodiversity.
Methods such as container growing (pictured opposite) allow
intense crop production without the use of pesticides and other
harmful chemicals.
Teaching people to use liquid organic fertiliser ensures that they are able to supply their plants with nutrients. For example, manure tea (pictured opposite) is prepared by steeping animal manure in a container of water; the water absorbs the nutrients which are then transferred to plants by soaking the root ball of the plant or wetting furrows before planting. Equally plants can be sprayed with the liquid or watered according to their requirements. Without this artificial fertilisers would be required, which are both harmful and out of the financial reach of our beneficiaries.
Pyrethrum is another example of utilising biodiversity techniques. The white flower heads of the plant produces insecticidal properties, and the flowers can
be ground to a dust and sprinkled on plants to repel and kill many bugs and insects. Planting pyrethrum around an area, as shown in this picture from our centre in Debre Berhan, reduces insect damage to valuable plants. |
