Malawi, South Africa

Is there anyone here who has connections to resources in Malawi?? We have a huge opportunity to feed several hundreds of kids there in orphanages and several cities there as well using SFG!!!! We need vermiculite and coir resources in country if possible. Inbox us when you can help.
Thanks
Gardening Renaissance

Sometimes those things cannot be found in a Country and Mel recommends using what you have. Compost is the biggest consideration. That is so wonderful of you to work on this Malawi project! Good luck with your search! I know there will be someone along who will be able to help!

I will be traveling to Kenya to inspect a project that we are doing with two partners. SRA and Koins for Kenya. I will be traveling from Kenya to Malawi to talk to another potential partner that wants to learn our methods and add it to his program. It's going to be awesome.

Happy trails and a safe journey to you. Send us a post card!

. I have just finished reading the SFG book. I am aware that ingredients 'mentioned in the book cannot be found in my country Tanzanie: vermiculite and peat moss. I wonder how I can learn methods which are workable here? Thank you

Just use well-aged compost, from as many different sources as are available.  

Beds can be made of cinder blocks, tree branches, rocks, bricks, etc.  I'm sure you can find materials for the grids.

Tessygreca, I just mix compost into my soil, and some sand.  My soil is a good growing soil though.  So I suggest you find a good soil and substitute it for peat, and if the soil is somewhat sandy, use it for the vermiculite as well.  You might want to change the rations though from 1/3rd each to half composts and half soil.  That is easier to achieve than all compost.  I know the standard reply is to use all compost, but those are often hard to come by.

Tessy,  Welcome to the Forum from California, U. S.   The SFG Foundation recognizes that peat and vermiculite are not readily available every where, especially the southern hemisphere.  Your main ingredients will be composts (probably aged herbivore manure to start with) and native soil.  You can start a compost pile with many different discards: Straw after the wheat has been harvested, cotton burrs, wilted or rotten vegetables and fruit, banana peels, tea leaves and coffee grounds, sea kelp washed up on the shores, and manures from any animal that doesn't eat meat, such as cow, horse, elephant, deer, goats, sheep, poultry.

You may want to contact the SFG Foundation for more information.  http://www.squarefootgardening.org/  One of the goals is to spread SFG world wide so that everyone can have some fresh veggies no matter where they live or their situation.  Here is a recent photo of a new SFG in Madagascar.  It looks like there are clumps of manure in the soil mix.  Notice the change of color when organic material is added to native dirt. Please provide regular updates.  And, we love photos.    

Hi Tessygreca. Welcome from the SE USA - Atlanta, GA. Glad you found us.

Just use what you have available.

And Sanderson is correct - we love photos!

Here are a few resources in SA for vermiculite or perlite.

SA Vermiculite- http://www.savermiculite.com/

Sun Silicates- http://www.sunsilicates.co.za/

Infigro- http://www.lake.co.za/products/infigro/

Hopefully, they can help with find some of the ingredients for your mix.

Mike

Thank you PVPind.

Hey Tessa!  So glad you are on here...cannot wait to hear of the progress, for real change!