Edem, my son chooses his lettuce for lunch
One of the interesting items I came across on the net today is the news that the family of the U.S.President Obama is to develop a section of the White House into a kitchen garden. The American first family wants eat what it grows. The kitchen garden could be seen by thousands of visitors.
Be on the lookout for Mr Obama next time you are in Washington DC. You might see him weeding in the garden. Maybe he could also see and hear and demonstrators who may not be pleased with the handling of some issues. Demonstrators are are always on the street in front of the White House. Some pitch their tents there for days and even for years! Demonstrations are a good safety valve.
Every member of the Obama family will work in the garden. Working in the garden could take President Obama's mind off the many problems on his desk. Could that be a good relief? It would be more than that.
The BBC reports that the initiative will be welcomed by advocates of the eat local movement such as Kitchen Gardeners International, a coalition of gardeners whose mission is to inspire and teach people to grow their own food.
More than 100,000 people signed the group's online petition urging the Obamas to replant an edible garden at the White House.
The Obamas will not the first to have a vegetable garden in the White House. The report says in 1800 John Adams, the first president to live in the White House, planted a garden.
In the last century, Eleanor Roosevelt planted a Victory Garden during the World War II, while the Clintons had a small rooftop garden that grew vegetables and herbs in the 1990s.
I used to grow my vegetables in my backyard. Quite an enjoyable hobby. One could share with neighbours fresh lettuce. It not very safe to eat lettuce from sources one is not sure of.
The water for watering some vegetables is unsafe. I know a couple of friends who suffered for eating contaminated vegetables. So it is safe to eat what one grows.
There are other advantages of that policy.
Many Ghanaians would not forget 'Operation Feed Yourself 70's. Faced with economic difficulties the then military regime led by General Acheampong made it a policy that every Ghanaian should produce some food.
The benefits of the policy remains a good lesson to date.
But let me tell you why I can't grow lettuce any longer. I have an orange and avocado pear trees. They cast shadow on a small piece of land I have available. An extension made by a former neighbour to his building has almost shielded off completely the sunshine depriving us of enough sunshine for drying clothes.
I have been thinking whether it would not be ideal to have small plot some where not far to grow vegetables. It is impossible to have access to a piece of land at where I live. Sakumono, which used to be outlandish and suburban has become a concrete jungle in less than 15 years.
Would the Russian concept of Datcha work here?(hope I got the spelling of that Russian word correct). During a trip to Russia, the family that a Swiss lady and I stayed with me told me of their lovely farm house outside Moscow. It was unfortunate I did not have time to visit their 'datcha'.
When would city dwellers,landowners, planners and investors think of such agricultural concepts? Investment in chalets outside the city has long become the practice for those who can afford. But not things as Datchas where one could forget the hustle and bustle of city life../ where one could sweat a bit tilling the land at the weekends or free time.
Before I end my piece may I know what became of a programme to assist market gardeners in Accra to have access to safe sources of water to grow vegetables all year round?
