Under the expert guidance of Rev Dumisile Mkhonta, students at Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary are taught to grow permaculture gardens in order to encourage food security within semi-rural and rural church contexts.
Sustainable door-sized organic gardening: what on earth is it all about?
Philosophy and Ethics: 
- living sustainably and harmoniously with nature
- reaction to food insecurity
- mimics natural growth and interactions
- conservation of natural resources
- soil conservation (no tilling, composting, green manure)
- water conservation (mulching, use of compost)
- careful energy accounting
- reduction of waste
- using “green” resources
- recycling
- healthy lifestyles, pure fresh food, no fertilisers or pesticides are used
How to design your own garden: 
- what are the plants, pests, predators in your area?
- observe how the sun strikes the garden.
- draw a list of plants and group them according to water needs and pest concerns
- create beds 15-30cm above natural soil level, 2m wide so you can lean from the side and reach the middle. Raised beds are not tilled to save nutrients
- place plants requiring amounts of sun and water in the same bed, some pairings act as a natural pesticide for each other
- place bigger plants first so they can provide shade for the smaller sensitive ones
- avoid tilling the soil to conserve nutrients
Preparing and planting the beds: 
- mark out the desired length (2m)
- dig to a depth of 60cm, putting soil beside the hole
- Layering:
- first layer – grass/straw
- second layer – soil
- third layer – manure & compost
- fourth layer – soil
- water the layers
- repeat this process until your bed is 30cm above ground
- apply think mulch on the surface of the bed
- the bed is ready for planting, dig to plant seeds/seedlings, make sure you leave the mulch on the soil all the time (save water, no weeds)
- spacing for vegetables (between rows and plants)
- spinach – 30 x15 cm
- cabbage – 45 x 45 cm
- beans – 30 x 10 cm
- carrots – 30 x 05 cm
- onion – 30 x 06 cm
- tomato – 90 x 45 cm
- feed plants with “manure tea” (soak a dry cake of manure in water, dilute mixture and apply around plant base)
- make a mixture of green soap, garlic and hot pepper as a spray to kill pests (apply on plants covered with dew)
- replace harvested plants with new ones. there is no need to till the soil.
Go garden!