For many women in rural areas, having a constant meal is the most important basic need in their households. And this has been enabled by their constant annual farming, which, however, is rain-fed and seasonal. As a result of the total dependence on rain for farming, they are only able to cultivate during the rainy season. This also means that once the food they produce during the harvest period is finished, they will have to rely on larger markets to purchase these foodstuffs, which strains their finances.
For this and many other reasons that affect the constant availability of food, especially vegetables, in many households, URBANET has set up dry-season nutrition gardens across most of these communities. This is to serve as an alternative food source and also an income source for them. As part of the interventions provided by URBANET, these women are taken through several good agronomic practices, including organic compost production and application, integrated pest management, and farm hygiene, among others.
For over a year, women in beneficiary communities have gone from having little to no access to vegetables during the dry season to having a wide variety of vegetables to choose from. These gardens have also relieved a financial burden from these women as they no longer have to purchase vegetables during the dry season. It has also reduced the trip to outskirt farms as the gardens are within their communities and a few meters away from their house.
As part of ensuring food security in rural and peri-urban communities, we are also promoting food sovereignty, access to nutritious meals and economic relief. Through these nutrition gardens, each household has a chance at getting these.
