Palabora and LA Crushers assist community gardens

2007-02-09

Humulani villagers were all smiles last Friday when their community garden received 15 enormous tyres, each with a 75kg bag of vermiculite. The garden, run by women in the village, feeds orphans and vulnerable children in Humulani and Matiko-Xikaya. The tyres and vermiculite, donated by Palabora Mining Company (PMC), were transported free of charge by LA Crushers.

Denven Warne, Superintendent of Logistics at PMC, explained that the vermiculite, when poured into the bottom of the tyre and mixed with soil, halves the amount of water needed and also promotes healthy plant growth by slowly releasing nutrients.

Friday’s was the first delivery out of a total of 80 tyres being made available to community gardens all over Ba-Phalaborwa, at locations including Maseke, Namakgale and Lulekani. Most of the gardens, supported by the Palabora Foundation, feed orphans and vulnerable children,, and people living with HIV. LA Crushers will deliver the tyres and bags every Friday until the donations are complete, as part of its ongoing commitment to the community.

The donations were organised by the Palabora Foundation after PMC asked Jenni Fleming of the Foundation’s Business Development unit to investigate the possibility of starting a small business to make use of the mine’s unwanted tyres. Voest Alpine, supplier of new tyres to the mine, is donating a splitting machine to Jenni’s entrepreneurs which should enable them to make traditional rubber-soled shoes. However, the business will not be operational until at least April, so Jenni asked some colleagues whether they could make use of any tyres in the interim.

SHE Rasebotsa (HIV and AIDS programme) and Joyce Makhema (community projects and skills development) both saw a need for improved facilities at the community gardens run through their departments.

The donations make for a win-win situation: the mine has found a home for some of its old tyres; and the villages’ most needy people will enjoy improved nutrition and, therefore, better health.

The Palabora Foundation would like to thank all of the companies and people involved in making these donations possible.

: ends :