Dakar′s rooftop vegetable garden

by Chido Makunike

Being right on the Atlantic Ocean moderates Dakar's climate considerably, making it less oppressively hot than much of Senegal's interior. But Dakar is not exactly a garden city. It is hot and dry except for a two month mid-year rainy season and the soil is mostly sandy and nutrient-poor. The punishing mid-day sun, the lack of significant tree cover to provide shade and cool things down and the premium on water are additional factors that discourage all but the brave from taking up serious gardening. Space is also an issue in the sprawling, high -population density city.

In addition to natural factors and perhaps partly because of them, urban gardening is not the significant activity in Dakar that it is in many other African urban areas. Dakar residents rely almost exclusively on the city's many formal and informal markets for vegetables, which are generally abundant and affordable. In some countries it is the exception rather than the rule to find a house without at least a small vegetable garden. In many African cities even apartment dwellers will often cultivate a piece of unused public land during the rainy season to supplement the family diet or budget.

But there are some interesting exceptions. In the Nord Foire area of Dakar is a roof-top oasis of greenery amid the sea of pale-coloured sand and concrete buildings. The city has almost no bungalow-style roofs, with virtually all buildings having flat concrete roofs that are ideal for storage, or for gardening!

The garden is situated on the roof of a building housing a branch of the United Methodist Church, and was set up as a demonstration of what was possible in order to have fresh, wholesome home-grown food even in a cramped city environment. It was inspired by Karen Ujereh, treasurer of the church in Senegal and her husband Sebastian. Louis Sylla is the gardener, and he takes great pride in showing off his garden to a visitor, of whom he says there have been many over the years of the garden's existence. The produce is sold to people in the neighbourhood.

The garden features a lot of lettuce, the most common green vegetable in the Senegalese diet, as well as smaller quantities of a number of other vegetables. Sylla takes great care to keep his raised timber beds well fed with rich top soil, compost and manure. He uses neither synthetic fertiliser nor pesticides. He is also meticulous about keeping the rooftop clean.

African Agriculture