Keyhole gardens help Lesotho adjust to climate change
23 November 2007
For many years, the weather in Lesotho has been unpredictable. Temperatures
in this land-locked southern African country have swung between 6 and 40°
Celsius, and its people have had to cope with hail, snow and frost. On a more
extreme level, drought and floods have struck, leaving destruction and hunger in
their wake. This year, a severe drought resulted in over half a million people
(almost a quarter of the population) needing emergency food, or emergency money
to buy food.
In coming years, climate change is likely to make Lesotho's weather even more erratic, and its food supplies even less secure. Already, at least 200,000 Lesothans annually are without enough food to eat, with even conventional crops such as maize unreliable. In the face of such challenges, DFID is supporting a scheme which aims to bring food to more tables by encouraging the cultivation of small (or "keyhole") gardens.
Small, simple and reliable
Throughout the lowlands of the country, keyhole gardens are becoming more and
more popular. Although they can make only a minor contribution to a family's
total food needs, in circumstances where field crops are often unavailable and
purchased food is expensive, every little helps.
Built close to their owners' houses, these small structures are cultivated at
waist to chest height. This makes them easy to maintain for the elderly or
people who are unable to bend down to a conventional garden plot. They are
composed of layers of soil, manure and ash, and contain a central core made up
of composting materials and, sometimes, tin cans. Once built, keyhole gardens
need very little tending, and are straightforward to water, being located near to
sources of waste domestic water.
Despite their small size, the gardens are highly productive: they can yield substantial amounts of nutritious vegetables, year round and regardless of rainfall patterns. Their ease of use and nutritional value mean that the gardens are strongly recommended for households weakened by AIDS.
Food for more of Lesotho
The Government
of Leostho is now widening the use of keyhole gardens (and similar
approaches), to ensure that the country's food supplies are stable. In the
districts of Berea and Mohale’s Hoek, where they have already been introduced, the gardens have been received enthusiastically, which bodes well for the
future.
As the effects of climate change become more present in Lesotho, field crops will be increasingly threatened. Keyhole gardens are one small but effective way of providing a reliable food source for the country's people.
Key facts
- Keyhole gardens were brought to Lesotho by the charity StockAid Lesotho, and then promoted in several regions by DFID, as part of the Livelihoods Recovery through Agriculture Programme (LRAP). DFID also funds the Priority Support Programme (PSP), which aims to help the Government of Lesotho achieve its two biggest poverty reduction priorities - job creation and food security.
- Keyhole gardens are a valuable weapon in the fight against food insecurity in Lesotho, and are especially useful for poor and vulnerable households – including those suffering with HIV and AIDS.
- DFID’s £1.8 Priority Support Programme will continue to promote the dissemination of keyhole gardens by government extension services, NGOs and community-based workers.
