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Backyard Food Gardens is one of the projects introduced by the Gender Development Unit to fight hunger and poverty. Ten disadvantaged beneficiaries in each ward were identified by the Community Development Workers in their respective areas to participate in this project.

During the visit of the Deputy President of South Africa to Bitou to launch the War on Poverty Programme, he emphasised that the people must start to do vegetable gardens in their backyards to fight poverty. It is therefore for that reason that the Bitou Municipality initiated this project.

Sixty families from throughout Bitou are already participating in this project. The Municipality provided these beneficiaries with gardening tools and seeds. The Community Development Workers will monitor these gardens in their respective areas to ensure the project’s sustainability.

The project was launched at Kwanokuthula Community Hall on 15 July 2011 by Sylvia Mtshamba who is the Gender Development Officer at Bitou Municipality. The beneficiaries where overwhelmed with joy when they received their gardening tools and seeds and expressed the view that they were hopeful that this was the end of their suffering as they will have fresh vegetables from their own gardens to cook and they will also be able to generate income from selling them to other community members and soup kitchens.