Perceptions on greywater reuse for home gardening activities in two rural villages of Fetakgomo local municipality, South Africa

Type Journal Article - Physics and Chemistry of the Earth
Title Perceptions on greywater reuse for home gardening activities in two rural villages of Fetakgomo local municipality, South Africa
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2019
URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474706518300391
Abstract
Greywater reuse has been adopted worldwide as an alternative source to freshwater and has been found to contribute to the household food supply. In this study, we assess the greywater reuse for home gardening in two rural communities (Ga-Seroka and Ga-Nkwana) in Limpopo Province, South Africa, using a mixed methods approach (Qualitative and Quantitative). A total of 95 and 87 households were randomly selected in Ga-Seroka and Ga-Nkwana villages, respectively. Field surveys from the selected households were gathered using structured questionnaires and then analysed using statistical package software. The study showed that 66% of the respondents from Ga-Nkwana village reused their greywater for home gardening when compared to 59% from Ga-Seroka. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of Ga-Nkwana and 40% of Ga-Seroka respondents used this greywater for irrigating fruit trees, whereas 24% and 22% in Ga-Nkwana and Ga-Seroka villages, respectively, used it for irrigating vegetables that are not eaten raw. Many respondents (73% and 85%) in Ga-Nkwana and Ga-Seroka villages mentioned that, they were not aware of problems associated with greywater reuse, hence, they continue using it for home gardening. We, therefore, concluded that although greywater reuse for home garden irrigation is practised in the two communities, its utilization is still with caution.

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