Monkey vs. Veggie
on December 8, 2008
It would be impossible for The Falls Resort to provide all the vegetables for our guests. The humble potato, for example, has to be brought to Livingstone from the plateau area of Zambia further north where it is cooler. But there are things we can grow in our limited space under shade cloth.
Our head vegetable gardener is Benjamin. Ben was taught agriculture in Monze, a town about 180 miles north of Livingstone. Ben grows whatever he likes, with advice from our kitchen. Benjamin enjoys his job and has loved learning about hydroponics. He says he doesn’t have problems operating the hydroponics system – he knows now how much fertilizer to add to the flowing water.
His biggest challenge is the monkey. Although the vegetable garden is closed off, we thought completely, from the outside world with shade cloth, those clever monkeys always find a way in, tearing the shade cloth if necessary. The worst time is early morning before Ben gets to work; the monkeys know where they can get a quick snack for breakfast and they know that Ben is not there. They are extremely fond of melons.
Every morning Ben gets an order from the hotels and he collects what is required. It is then delivered fresh to the kitchen for the day’s meals. At the moment he can supply strawberries, spinach, tomatoes, melons and cucumbers. The produce is actually sold to the hotel, but the money does not belong to Ben. He collects it on behalf of a support group for blind people who live in an area of Livingstone called Linda. They are looked after by a church but they can always do with some help. Ben is then paid by the support group.
It does seem quite a complicated way of financially managing a vegetable patch. But, in this way, everyone is a winner. Ben has a job; local people with special needs are assisted; the hotel gets wonderfully fresh vegetables, and even the monkeys get the odd breakfast.
