Belize City Council’s ‘Mek WI Plant” Urban Garden in Police Street Extension

The Belize City Council’s ‘Mek Wi Plant’ Urban Garden on Police Street Extension has been showing great success. Since the inception of the project in early 2022, the garden has yielded more than a hundred pounds of green and yellow bell peppers, over three harvests. The program has created employment for several residents on Police Street Extension who are tasked with keeping the plants. The bell peppers are sold to Chon Saan Palace and the proceeds go directly into the Belize City Council’s operational expenses. We stopped by the garden today, where we spoke with Devin Daly, the Programs Manager at the Belize City Council, about the initiative.

Devin Daly

Devin Daly, Programs Manager, Belize City Council

“I love being outdoors and this was an initiative that the Council wanted to do from 2018 actually and we just brought it full circle in the past year. I am happy to say we showing progress and success with the produce we are growing. We are just the policy makers at the council. We did the procurement of the greenhouse structure, the lease of the land and all of that, but Mr. Gregory, Mr. Pratt and Ms. Wilma, they are the ones that are here every single day watering, pruning, and taking care of it. We got assistance from the Red Cross, the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Ministry of Agriculture. They came in and did the training for the community members on urban gardening best practices, what to do and what not to do. We go trained at the council, they got trained here and that is the kind of synergy that formed.”

Leonard Gregory

Leonard Gregory, Caretaker, Mek Wi Plant Urban Garden

“After I plant, we mold it, for the molding is very important. We water and different fertilizer and we pick the dead leaves off the trees that is important, you know what I mean. Then, we walk around and see that everything is going alright.”