By Mariama Cham
Women gardeners in Kuwonkuba village in the Upper River Region have taken a rare move to set a fine of D500 for anyone who quarrels or fights in the garden.
This regulation, the women unambiguously said, is meant to maintain peace and harmony among the local women in the garden.
As part of their sustainability programs, the Kuwonkoba Women Garden gardeners instituted the regulation that prohibits all forms of violence at the site.
Abba Darboe, one of the elderly women in the garden emphasised that the move is aimed at bringing peace and unity among women in the garden.
“We want unity. Anything that we do, if we are united, we will get what we want. This is why we all agreed to be united to change our community in a better way, to have a better life,” she explained.
Abba went on to narrate that in the past, two women flouted the said rule but paid the price.
“Two women once quarrelled here (in the garden). They were asked to pay D500 each as agreed. Since we have no quarrels here. The garden is now peaceful, and everyone works hard to earn a living here,” she narrated.
In the garden, the women are provided with seeds and other necessary inputs. They grow a variety of vegetables such as cassava, pepper, Irish potato, bitter tomato, sorrel, and many other vegetables.
The five-hectare garden is provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization office in The Gambia as a support to women, especially breadwinners to be able to provide for their families and create self-employment opportunities for them. The garden has an irrigation system and a perimeter fence.
Over 400 women cultivate crops in the garden. Some of them use their produce at home to prepare meals for the family, while the rest of the garden produce is taken to the weekly open-market (Lumo) for sale.
