TRAINING ON MICRO GARDEN AND VEGGIE TUNNEL PRODUCTION

Student: Mr. Muronga Poulus Dinkwe. He came from DiHokoHoko close to Divundu in the Kavango region.

I received him to be trained in micro gardening and mainly on veggie tunnel production from the 26^th of May 2013 till the 31^st of May 2013. The training was done at the Hope Village veggie tunnel gardens and was organized by Namibia Horticulture Trust.

This training was offered in order to prepare him to be able to manage veggie tunnels as part of his skills improvement. This would filter down to teaching his skills to the members of his community, to create jobs and income generation.

The student was trained on how to:

·         Install a veggie-tunnel and repair it

·         Plant, care and harvest vegetables (how and when to water, how to harvest certain crops and when to harvest them)

·         Control of the application of water

·         Use planting bags

·         Select soil for the preparation of planting

·         Do the planting calendar and crop rotation (crop rotation cycles and the sterility of the sand medium)

·         Use the Hygroponic Fertilizer

·         Choose a good cultivar for the area and season

·         Expect and address problems in his garden (pest control and diseases)

Other activities which the student participated in were:

·         Watering the tunnels

·         Weeding the planting bags and the general area

·         Harvesting crops as was indicated

·         Installing drip-lines in the tunnels

·         Maintaining a clean environment around the garden 

My time with the student was mainly practical work; we worked more outdoor than indoors. The student demonstrated the value of his past experience with gardening, which was helpful knowledge to build upon.

Although challenges were encountered with the homework and the written test he still performed well in the practical applications.

The venue where the training was done is called Hope Village in the Goreangab extension of Katutura and the gardens consist of 4 veggie tunnels. These tunnels provide for the 4 houses of orphaned HIV children. The Hope Village gardens are sponsored by NHT and used as a training facility with the approval of the Hope Village management.

 

 

Cost Involved

The training was offered by NHT for free. The student was not charged a training fee either.

Evaluation

At the end of his training, the student had to complete a written test that covered the topics of his period of training. The student did pass his test and he proved to have a good general understanding of the course. As a result of this test, the presenter was also able to identify areas which proved to be unclear to the student and used it as a final session to address and explain these topics in more detail.

Report By

Emmanuel Muyumba

Urban Horticulture TOT