Families rediscover old ally to beat inflation – The backyard / balcony ‘maschamba’ is again trending in Mozambique

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Families rediscover old ally to beat inflation – The backyard / balcony ‘maschamba’ is again trending in Mozambique

3:15 CAT | 18 Aug 2016

O País

As basic necessities get more expensive, people are turning their backyards into gardens.

One such is Ernesto Macome, who lives in the Albasine neighbourhood on the outskirts of Maputo. The young man told O País that he has two passions: building – his profession , and agriculture – a family trait.

We found Ernesto taking care of his garden, a patch in his yard where he grows a little of everything, from tomatoes, onions and garlic to cassava. He says that it was the high cost of living that pushed him to it.

“When we go to the market to buy vegetables, we spend more than investing in a garden like this,” he said, adding that growing your own has other advantages. “Instead of buying a product that might have been with the vendor for ten days or so, with the garden we have the advantage of a fresh and nutritious product,” he says with a smile.

Some of Ernesto’s neighbours also grow their own vegetables. Dona Mariamo Mahanjane says that she is concerned with reducing spending than any passion for plants. The green of the vegetables stands out in her yard. “I’ve planted a garden to save money. Here, I’ve got cabbage, lettuce, onions and other produce. These I no longer need to buy. In fact, this activity helps me in my ‘badjias’-selling business. This is where I grow the onions to make them,” she says.

Elsewhere in Albasine, O País met up with 76-year-old Armando Macamo. Like Ernesto, he is an engineer, but with age has found other skills. He walks in a slow but powerful manner. “I have a lot of strength. If I didn’t, how could I live?” he says, when asked where he finds the energy for gardening. He devotes much of his time to caring for his garden, his source of livelihood. “This production is for my survival. Here I have cabbage, beans, lettuce – I try to grow a little of everything,” he says.

Macamo has children, but still feels strong enough to work. “I do not want to be dependent on my children. They help me, but I’m still not old enough to sit down waiting for charity,” he says. And to minimize the costs of water, Armando has dug a well to irrigate his garden.

Even outside the suburbs, we found example of home-growing. Regina Charumar is a university teacher who has been living in central Maputo for two months, and decided, because she used to have a vegetable garden where she comes from, to grow vegetables on her balcony. “With a packet of seed that costs between 70 and 90 meticais I can have lettuce for six months or more. So if we want to talk about reward, we come out winning with a backyard garden. Here in the centre of town a head of lettuce costs between 40 and 50 meticais,” she says, adding that she plans to increase production.

Source: O País