Climate change adaptation training prepares women in PNG

By Jacklyn Yala, Communications Coordinator, Disaster READY Country Committee, PNG

Women in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville enjoyed learning new techniques that would increase food security despite challenges presented by climate change in their community. IMAGE: Jacklyn Yala. CARE International

In 2023, community members in parts of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ARoB) faced huge food insecurities following a seven-month drought. To help mitigate the effects of drought in future, CARE International, through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership’s Disaster READY program, provided climate-smart agriculture and food processing training for communities across the region.

The climate change adaptation skills learned through the trainings, such as climate-smart agriculture and food preservation, will play a crucial role in shaping how communities prepare for disasters, given that Bougainville is prone to multiple hazards.

Emily is the Ward member for Metonai, and is making sure the skills are used by supplying rice mills to the people in her Ward. The training was the first of its kind in her Ward, and Emily was one of 37 people trained (27 females and 10 males) in climate-smart agriculture and food processing methods.

“Since CARE introduced the Disaster READY program, I have seen significant changes within my Ward and constituency. My people have shown great interest in the theory and practice of food processing.” Emily said.

Participants from the Climate Change Adaptation training hold their training manuals. IMAGE: Jacklyn Yala. CARE International

Cassava and sweet potatoes are climate-resilient crops commonly found on Bougainville. During the food processing training, the communities were taught how to grind the starches and preserve them for up to six months. These starches can also be turned into bakery products, such as cookies and doughnuts.

Emily explained that their traditional method of cooking cassava was boiling, but the training taught them new skills such as how to turn food crops into flour, which can be preserved for up to six months. She was particularly grateful that the training would help women in her community to earn an income.

“Mothers in my Ward have shown interest in using their baking skills to start small businesses,” She smiled. “This can provide financial support for their families during times of disaster and help pay for their children's school fees.”

“Since CARE introduced the Disaster READY program, I have seen significant changes within my Ward and constituency. My people have shown great interest in the theory and practice of food processing.” IMAGE: Jacklyn Yala, CARE International

She added that the training has inspired the women to be innovative and come up with new baking recipes using cassava, sweet potato, and flour.

Part of the benefit of Disaster READY for communities is that complements other develop programs, and inspires participants to look to build on new knowledge to respond to their communities needs when it comes to climate change adaptation and disaster preparedness. “With this training, I believe it is my responsibility as a leader to bring some assistance to the people,” Emily said. “Therefore, I have applied for two rice mills to encourage our farmers to engage in rice farming. My plan is to support the farmers to produce large scale and supply rice and flour bags directly to stores in the Kieta and Paguna.

“Additionally, I am planning to take these mothers to showcase their products at the Bougainville annual Cocoa Festival.” she added.

Emily was thrilled that the women in her Ward now have the skills to ensure they have adequate food supplies during drought seasons or any future disasters. They can sustain themselves by turning their crops into different products for consumption and raising money for their families.

Ambros Omarike, a chief of one of the villages impacted by the drought, said that people in his area had experienced food shortages caused by the failure of all their food crops, and that villagers were unprepared and some families had almost no food to eat. Chief Ambros was present at the training venue to ensure that his people could learn as much as possible.

“Through the training provided by CARE, our perceptions of gardening have changed,” he said. “We have learned how to cultivate climate-resilient crops and preserve food for longer periods during droughts. The women and men in our village have been taught how to make flour from crops like cassava and sweet potatoes. This is a new skill, and I am impressed as the village chief.

“I want to acknowledge CARE and AHP for providing this life-saving training. You have taught us how to preserve our food crops for up to six months. I believe that when the next drought comes, we will be able to overcome it by utilising these skills. This is a significant change in my community.

“We have learned how to cultivate climate-resilient crops and preserve food for longer periods during droughts.” Chief Ambros expressed his gratitude for the Disaster READY training, and looks forward to seeing how it will help improve food security in his community. IMAGE: Jacklyn Yala, CARE International.

Chief Ambros compared previous practices with what he hopes will happen in the future, “In the past, whatever we harvested from our gardens would either be consumed within days or would rot and be discarded. We used to buy flour bags from the shops and never considered turning our food crops into flour. Additionally, we spent a lot of money purchasing flour bags. However, now this skill will reduce the cost of purchasing flour bags.

“This is the first time we have seen our women and men turning sweet potatoes and cassava into flour and baking cookies and doughnuts. As the Chief, I consider this self-reliance. It represents true independence when my people can create things at the community level.”