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DANCE & FEEL SUBLIME

American Tribal Style Bellydance is an empowering dance form as it welcomes people from all walks of life to learn a catalogue of moves and combine them in improvised performances. You can choose to lead or not and in this way, is a democratic and open style.
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YOU TOO, CAN BE A SUSTAINABLE FARMER

Want to see a super fun way to become a sustainable farmer using old sacks? Then check out this thought provoking talk by environmentalist Pepe. Discover how we can collectively reduce our environmental impact, eat delicious organic food grown on our doorsteps in the city, and re-establish our lost connection with that which nourishes us; the land.

https://www.facebook.com/tishangembewu/


Joseph Millman, affectionately known as Pepe to most, is a well-travelled environmentalist. He is the spokesperson for Tishange Mbewu (Let’s plant seeds), an organic urban agriculture project developed in Bauleni, Lusaka, a high-density, low-income compound. The organization trains unemployed women to grow organic food in sack gardens, with the aim of improving nutrition and food security, while also encouraging these poor urban populations to remain connected with the land. Tishange Mbewu is the result of Pepe’s desire to live as sustainably as possible and inspire people to do the same. Pepe applies the knowledge he gained in South and North America, Europe, Asia and Australia to the activities in Bauleni, while also looking beyond: his future ambition is to further explore the idea of sustainability through the medium of eco-villages.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
​What a brilliant idea!!! So easy! I can see no reason why we wouldn't all want to be self sustaining in terms of growing our own vegetables.

This is SUCH an important point: 
"EVERY SINGLE THING THAT WE USE, TAKES ENERGY TO CREATE" (Joesph Millman, 2016). 
It makes you realise that, conversely, everything you throw away, is a big waste of energy. It is then obvious and vital to use food waste to create more food.

Be empowered! Start gardening today!


We support projects that empower women across the globe:

Empowering Women in Zambia

Via Urban Agricultural Gardening Project 'Tishange Mbewu'
​("Let's plant seeds")
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ORGANIC AGRICULTURAL TRAINING

Tishange Mbewu, say whaaat ?
Tishange Mbewu is a 12 month urban agriculture project that started in January 2016 in a slum of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, in Southern Africa.
100 women are taught how to make sack gardens.
Up until now, 3 groups (50 women), have been trained over a period of 4 months in organic agriculture, cooking, nutrition and budget management. Each woman has received 5 sacks to cultivate on their doorstep or in a community space.
After many years involved in social projects and developing the community, the NGO In&Out of the ghetto aimed to develop a project to empower women.
The ladies, like those in the picture above, are still confined to domestic duties which doesn't give them the opportunity to leave the house. Their social circle is limited and they are over-represented in unemployment statistics. They struggle to feed their families especially as single mothers and their education rarely exceeds grade 6. They hardly speak english and some can't read or write.
So, with this training, we get them out of their houses to meet other women where they acquire new skills in the field of agriculture; they simultaneously improve their level of employability and their ability to better feed their families.The goal is to form a cooperative to sell their organic products to local restaurants.
Tishange mbewu means "Let's plant seeds" in the local language, Chinyanja. We hope that these seeds will be planted both in the gardens and in the minds !
EMAIL FROM THE TECHNICAL DIRECTOR,
Joseph Millman:

"Hey Everybody!

Long time no hear!

Guess what? I'm in Zambia in southern Africa working as the Technical Director in a little project called Tishange Mbewu. Don't know where it is? Don't worry, not many people do. Nothing really happens here, so it doesn't make the news around the world (though it's a good place to know for trivia if you need a 'Z' country that's not Zimbabwe).

The project is an urban organic agriculture project that aims to empower women from one of the slums here in the capital. We use recycled flour sacks to grow a bunch of different vegetables that the women can eat at home or sell to a local restaurant. As the 'Technical Director' I'm in charge of the fun stuff, I get to play in the garden and teach the women about organic gardening. I even made my first business card :)

The project is awesome, and you can see more info about it here or at the Facebook page.

The first part of the project was sponsored by local associations but now we need to ask our friends and their friends to help us finance the second part. The project is cheap to run, and it has the power to change the lives of the women involved.

Thank you for taking the time to read about it.

If you have any questions ask away! I'm happy to talk about sack gardening 24/7 to whoever will listen to me."

Much love

WIDER SCOPE

And what about those sacks ?
​
Peggy Pascal, a French agricultural engineer, invented the technique of sack-gardening in a slum in Kibera, Kenya. And we'll tell you a secret: they're simple to make! First, you take an empty 90kg sack of flour (recycled of course), put rocks in the middle then fill around the rocks with a mixture of sand, soil and compost. Voilà! You're ready to plant your seeds on top and your seedlings all around the sides. Make sure to water it every day by pouring water on top of the rocks, and you've got yourself a sack garden!
​Pro tip: The rocks can be basically any size, they just ensure that the water gets dispersed evenly throughout the sack as you water it.​​

Sack gardens use less water than 'normal' gardens, they're super fertile because of the amount of compost we use, and one sack has the equivalent space of 4m²!

More questions? Contact us!
​
tishangembewu@ gmail.com 

https://www.facebook.com/tishangembewu/​
Eulie (above) is passionate about the benefits of sack gardening for her family and community
Ireen (above) is passionate about the benefits of sack gardening for her family and community

The Project in Action

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Eulie
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