

Cape Town’s oldest urban farm recreated as Oranjezicht City Farm!

Food Culture Community
Can carrots teach us about building a community? If the Oranjezicht City Farm is anything to go by, growing food together is a great way to simultaneously reconnect Capetonians with a part of the city’s heritage and with each other. Text by Alma Viviers, Photos by Lisa Burnel
City Views: Cape Town as a biodiverse cityhttp://www.capetownpartnership.co.za/
On Tuesday mornings, the women who run the community garden adjacent to the Fezeka municipality building in Gugulethu send their produce to the Harvest of Hope packing shed in nearby Philippi.
High on the slopes of Table Mountain lies the suburb of Oranjezicht. The Oranjezicht farm was established here in 1709 and grew fresh fruit and vegetables that were used to supply the Castle of Good Hope and passing ships. Now, where part of the old farm used to lie, on the site of an unused bowling green, a new city farm is laying down its roots.
The dream of turning a disused bowling green into a vibrant, beautiful and nourishing community vegetable farm is fast becoming a reality for Oranjezicht and Higgovale residents.
As urban gardening takes root in South African cities, a group of conscientious residents from a suburb rich in heritage are getting their green fingers dirty to give back to their community.
In 1709 the historical Oranje Zicht farm supplied ships with fruit and vegetables. Today, the Oranjezicht City Farm continues a 300 year-old legacy of community farming through its transformation from an abandoned bowling green to a vibrant community garden.
Organic Farm in South Africa: Cape Town’s Oranjezicht farm was established in 1709 and grew fresh fruit and vegetables to supply the Castle of Good Hope and passing ships.