An abattoir in Nairobi converts waste, using a biogas plant to produce about 30 Kilowatts of power to run the electricity in the abattoir.

Having already covered the planning, preparing and planting of your vegetable garden, this month we look at the vital importance of mulching. If you have never mulched before, now is the time! Read below for five reasons you should start mulching.

Welcome to THE STOEP HARVEST, an exciting new addition to the Green Times. Once a month, Sam Adams will be writing an article that looks at how to design, create and maintain a successful organic vegetable and herb garden. There will be information for both first-time gardeners as well as those more experienced.

Last year, the Midlands Meander Education Project received funding from Thatu UK to assist Carshalton School get their food garden growing well and able to provide fresh, organic veggies to supplement the school feeding scheme. Mr Nathi Majola, principal of the school, observed that the community surrounding the school also needed help to grow food and asked MMAEP facilitator, Jessica Dreamtime if she would mind inspiring them as well. Jessica and Mary Mlambo from Dovehouse Organic Farm, enthusiastically set about this task, reminding the community of the ways their grandparents had grown food sustainably - with inter planting, crop rotation and making use of manure and weeds as fertilizer.

Wrinkles, memory loss and degenerative disease don't have to happen. By making healthy changes to your diet and lifestyle you reduce the unnecessary stress on your body and slow the ageing process - whether you're in your 20s or 80s.