Vegetable cultivation at steps in Namibia

At our project location Okakarara, there has been a vegetable-growing area of over 1.000 sq m in the neighboring village of Ongombombonde since 2014 . Mostly under shade nets, but plenty also grows here in the open: carrots, cabbage, beetroot and spinach. Bell peppers and chili peppers are also grown here, as are melons and onions. But chili peppers in particular thrive here.

In the meantime, the employees’ wages in the vegetable garden are now financed by the sale of the vegetables – unlike at the beginning of the project.
The vegetables that are not sold are used by the steps’ own soup kitchen in Okakarara to prepare fresh meals for the children and young people.
Even after the wages have been paid, steps still has a reserve to finance new seedlings, seeds, fertilizer and garden materials.
The surplus from the harvest is sold to guest farms and the surrounding population.

Since 2019 trees have been grown in a new greenhouse, which are to be sold later. Organic cultivation is also planned.

Chili peppers grow well in Namibia – says chili fan Hendrik

Some employees come from villages far away to Ongombombonde, which makes additional living quarters necessary. We now want to build these using the materials from the former sewing room.