Heartlands Baby Sanctuary started a food garden during the lockdown to supplement their kitchen and earn an additional income.
Somerset West, South Africa (10 February 2021) – In the last 5 years, the Heartlands Baby Sanctuary has offered temporary care and safety to 280 babies. The sanctuary’s goal is to temporarily care for a child and then reunite it with family, whether existing or adoptive.
In an average month, the sanctuary can go through 4800 nappies and 1900 bottles of formula. Staff and volunteers work 24/7 to ensure the safety of babies and children.
With the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the sanctuary lost the majority of their funding. They went on to establish a new project—a food garden.
The food garden would be used to supplement their own kitchen costs, but mostly it is used to bring an income in from sales. As they discussed below, it will aid in their goal of being a self-sustained organisation.
The success has meant that the garden will be expanded. They shared the happy news on Facebook along with an image of their latest harvest.
“After an extremely successful pilot, our Seeds of Hope Garden is producing the most outstanding organic and nutritious food for the children and the Heartlands Coffee Shop. And given the success of this pilot, the garden will be extending 6 – fold over the next year and will produce fruit, nuts and lots more veggies. Very excitingly we plan for this to become a skills development project for the parents and the community at large.”