Hydroponic Training Gives Women Way To Earn $s
GROWING FOOD CROPS EVEN IF NO LAND
The Makoi Women’s Vocational Training Centre is giving women the opportunity to grow food crops even if they have no land.
The latest course run by the centre involves hydroponic planting and already five women are learning the ropes in the hope of developing their own hydroponic farms. Hydroponics is a category of hydroculture, a method of growing plants without soil using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. This was highlighted during the centre’s open day at Nasinu yesterday by hydroponics trainer Pravina Naidu, who says there could be more people attending the training if there is awareness.
“Students learn to do seedlings, transplant and take care of the plants and then harvest it,” Ms Naidu said.
“Then they can leave here with that knowledge and can start their own hydroponic farm at home.”
The hydroponics system being taught involves participants being able to harvest 100 plants after six weeks.
“We use recycled cups and ice cream containers to build systems that will hold the plants and help it grow and also we do our own fertilisers and pesticides,” Ms Naidu said.
“We do this so that we can have a clean environment instead of carelessly disposing it and allowing mosquitoes to breed.”
The students have been able to plant cabbage, mint, lettuce, and spinach in their hydroponic plots. The open day also involved women displaying their sewing, cooking and baking skills.