| ID: | 85992 |
|---|---|
| Country: | Solomon Islands |
| Title: | Solomon Islands - Pacific Islands Rural and Agriculture Stimulus Facility (PIRAS) - November 2022 |
| Description: |
Virginia Legaile, 49-years-old, lives in Hanibeta Village, a small settlement on Nigella Island, Central province, and one of nine communities on the island participating in the PIRAS project. She is a nurse who specializes in non-communicable disease (NCD) treatment. But, together with others from the communities, she gained skills and knowledge from PIRAS and the training provided by Kastom Garden, in addition to tools and livestock received. “We don’t have any shops here in our village. Before COVID, we used to go out to the other villages to shop for the things we needed. But that all stopped with the lockdown, which was difficult for us. We had our own locally grown produce from our gardens, like taro, yam and bananas. But they don’t grow in all seasons.” With the start of PIRAS in late 2021, Kastom Garden provided workshops and taught villagers how to improve the soil for more productive cultivation of local food crops, how to make compost and do mulching, and how to create good drainage during the rainy season. That helped them extend the growing season of their various crops so that fresh food is available all year around. Not only did that boost their food security and help them achieve a more nutritious, balanced diet, it also allowed them to earn a good income from selling the surplus. “Our improved diet also helps people’s health. Before, people were walking or paddling in their boats to other villages to seek medical attention from the clinic. But with our balance, plant -based diet, everyone is healthier now.” For their first training workshop, Kastom Garden showed how to mix the soil for growing seedlings in the nursery and for planting, getting everyone in the community involved. Then, working in a 30 square meter plot, the men ploughed, and the women measured off the rows before the extension workers demonstrated best planting practices for a number of different food crops. Everyone, young and old, men and women alike, benefitted by sharing their experience with each other and learning new skills from the agriculture officer. Virginia received four chickens from the project and bought a few more on her own. After losing the first hatchlings, she learned to keep the newly hatched chicks in a warm brooder until they are large enough to join the adults. “The training was done so that it was easy for us to understand. Now, whenever anybody asks me a question or wants to know more skills, I can help them. When I go around to other communities in Central province, I always take the time to raise awareness about better food and nutrition and share the new skills I learned on how to grow food crops for better health.” Virginia has taken the opportunity to combine her new-found knowledge with her duties as a nurse, using her backyard garden as a nutrition and gardening training centre for her patients. After examining them and giving them their medication, she provides information on how to garden in various soil conditions and shares seedlings with them. When they return to her bRingging beans and pumpkins, she knows that they have learned and that they have succeeded in improving their diets. |
| Size: | 10.01 MB; 5472 x 3648 pixels; 463 x 309 mm (print at 300 DPI); 1448 x 965 mm (screen at 96 DPI); |
| Show more details: | Barbara Gravelli |
| Copyright: | @IFAD/Barbara Gravelli |
| Categories: | New from Asia and the Pacific |
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