In the town of Adjarr, 13 families cultivate this garden in Honvié on a 1,250 m2 plot of land. The women work hard in the garden so as to bring in supplement food for their respective families. Several vegetables and fruits are cultivated on this sandy plot, including: morels, “avounvo”, a local leafy vegetable, tomatoes, “sôman”, amaranth and crincrin, papaya and cassava. The garden has access to a hand drawn well that is 30 meters deep. Each woman has a personal plot of land that she cultivates with her children, the harvest from which is used mainly for personal consumption, though some is also sold. Of the revenues from sales, 100 FCFA are put in the communal funds to make sure that the group can pay for any eventual bills. Despite the fact that each woman has her own piece of land, they still share compost and gardening tools. This working environment has created a solidarity among all of the group’s members. In 2015 Slow Food helped these women through the group RED (Réseau Ethique et Développement). The training sessions given by the local Slow Food Benin members has allowed this community to garden on the basis of the restoration of the soil’s fertility through the use of compost and mulching. This community garden is often attacked by pests, but thanks to certain natural pesticides, like a mixture of neem leaves, hot peppers and water, as well as the use of ashes, the fight against pests is able to take place all naturally.
Some of the seeds are saved each year by the women to make sure that the local species of plants do not go extinct.
Area
Commune d’Adjarra
Coordinator
Gaston Daniel Oke