Doing our part for the environment

When we moved into our house four years ago, I was interested in having a garden. I thought it would be really neat to grow some of our own food. I was not really sure what we would plant but the idea of having our garden was exciting.

It took us a long while to start putting anything on the piece of land I allotted it but once we did, we went full throttle. We started with a few plants of matooke. We added beans and maize to the list and they have become a staple on the list.

About a year or so later, we added fruit trees. It has been an exciting journey. In fact, whenever I get a new maid, I ask if they are good with gardens. It is a must-have for my employees.

The other reason I started a garden, apart from saving costs, was that I wanted to do my bit for the environment. The more I read about how human beings were destroying the earth, the more I felt guilty. I did not want to be a part of the earth-destroyers but I felt there was nothing much I could do about it.

However, I started reading many articles on how people were doing their bit to preserve the environment.

A garden, for me, was one of the ways I could start. Using our garden to get us vegetables and other foods, would mean we would not be paying to buy foods that were sprayed with artificial fertilisers which damage the earth in their own way. So, that is one of the reasons the garden was started.

Even before that, I planned that we would have a rubbish pit for our degradable rubbish so we could use it as natural fertiliser for the garden. The pit was dug and work began. I ensured we had two dustbins, one for the leftovers of food, plus peels and all that, the other for non-degradable stuff like plastic.

All the degradable rubbish was put in the rubbish pit. The non-degradable was collected in a bin bag and given to rubbish collectors to dispose of it well—hopefully.

Two years after we had moved in, hubby decided we should get solar power. I admit I was worried initially. It sounded expensive and I was not sure how reliable it would be. The loadshedding around that time, however, made me give in.

It has worked well for us. Now, we want to see if we can increase the solar power to cater for the water heater and a few other things.

The thing we have not done well yet is harvest rainwater. We put the gutters up and made connections to the right places.

We have however not yet put up a tank to collect it or big containers to get it from different corners of the house. We harvest some but so little, compared to what we can do.

But we have not given up. Sometime this year we will do it.
And then next year, we will decide what else we can do to protect the earth. What are you doing on your part?