By XAVIER SMERDON
PAYMAN Kooshi came to Australia from Iran nine months ago in the hope of creating a new life for his wife and two young daughters.
But Visa restrictions have made it impossible for him to work and provide for his family.
While he waits for his situation to change, he has found a new sense of belonging and self-worth by volunteering at a local community garden.
Mr Kooshi regularly visits the Werribee Environmental Community Garden (WECP) in Wyndham Vale where he maintains his own plot of blooming vegetables.
He has chosen to grow beans and cabbages for the time being because they are what he is used to eating in Iran.
Mr Kooshi said he enjoyed learning about vegetables he had never seen before and also taking home some new skills.
“I like it here because now I have new friends and I like to work in the garden very much,” Mr Kooshi said.
“When I come here I enjoy it very much because at home I get very bored when I cannot work.”
President of the WECP, Bob Fairclough, said Mr Kooshi had been embraced by his fellow gardeners and had developed a green thumb.
He said members of the community were being shown different techniques, such as using companion plants like flowers to keep certain insects away from the vegetables.
“One of the ideas of the garden is to show people how to do different things and to also provide them with the opportunity to grow fresh and healthy vegetables for themselves,” Mr Fairclough said.
The WECP is located on Walls Road in Wyndham Vale, at the rear of ISON house.
For more information call Bob on 0409 252 872.
