- Development & Aid - Economy & Trade - Human Rights - Global
Governance - Civil Society Monday, May 20, 2013 - “We never used
to eat carrots, but now we like them,” said Rebeca Soba,
admiring her vegetable garden, an island of diversity in the
midst of a vast sugarcane plantation. Vegetable gardening has
been introduced at the Capanda Agroindustrial Pole (PAC) as a
source of income for local small farmers. The vegetable gardens
are part of a social programme, Kulonga pala Kukula (“education
for development” in Kimbundu, the local African language), which
also includes actions to promote health, water availability and
education. Women and a few men plant a variety of seeds brought
from Brazil in 10 villages close to the Capanda hydroelectric
plant, 360 kilometres from Luanda. Some species were unknown to
the local population, like parsley and arugula, which they cook
rather than eat in salads. “It’s very bitter,” said Soba, a
45-year-old mother of five, who is one of the leaders of the
agriculture programme f