Home-grown food helping Solomon Islands families weather economic shocks
Above: Mary stands beside her vegetable bed where she plants Chinese cabbage (pak choi) from the seedlings raised in the nursery bank supported by the project. Photo: Hellenda Honimae/Save the Children Solomon Islands
Mary lives in a small community in Guadalcanal province in Solomon Islands, with five children between the ages of 1 and 15. Her husband is unfortunately very sick, so she bears the responsibility of supporting the whole family.
To feed her children, Mary sells whatever garden produce she can at nearby markets, such as vegetables, sweet potato and betel nut. Sometimes she also collects seashells, seaweed and goes fishing.
Despite her best efforts, Mary and her family live a modest life and find it challenging to afford basic household items.
Through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP) COVID-19 Response in Solomon Islands, Mary was able to participate in a project to learn more about growing food, working together with others in her community to increase the yield from home gardens.
The AHP-supported project is combatting food insecurity by providing resources and training in subsistence farming, to increase resilience to the economic shocks caused by COVID-19 and closed international borders. Through community nurseries, improved knowledge and supplies, it is hoped that locally-grown produce will reduce families’ reliance on purchasing food.
The project, implemented by Save the Children Solomon Islands in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, supported the construction of a community nursery by providing shade cloth, nails and incentives for construction workers through an innovative cash-for-work program. The project also provided seedlings to be raised in the nursery banks. Community members were shown how to care for the young plants and supported to successfully transplant them into their own backyards.
The project provided training to Mary and other community members on sustainable agricultural practices, including soil, pest, and disease management. Mary also attended sessions about the importance of good nutrition for child development.
Mary has planted some of the vegetable seedlings from the nursery into her own backyard. She feeds her children with vegetables she grows and sells some of the produce to provide for basic household necessities. The money also helps pay for medicine for her husband, as well as transport to access health services in Honiara.
Community members like Mary now try to feed their children a healthy, balanced diet that supports their growth and development. Other community members also report being able to afford to buy household necessities using money earnt from selling vegetables.
“This project has been very beneficial to us,” Mary said. “In the past we did not have such nursery houses and we are very happy with it being established, because we have learned a lot from it.”
The AHP COVID-19 Response in Solomon Islands is supported by the Australian Government.