[pronut-hiv] Low Input Gardening: Growing Positively

["Shampa Nath" <SNath@jsieurope.org>]

The erosion of household coping mechanisms due to AIDS and massive food shortages have contributed to the food security crisis in Zimbabwe.  With DFID funding, John Snow International, Europe (JSI Europe) began distribution of food aid to some of the most vulnerable urban households in Zimbabwe through AIDS service organisations in 2003.  

A baseline assessment carried out by JSI Europe in January 2003 found that 46% of households had some type of vegetable garden.  Building upon this strength, JSI Europe began the Low-Input Gardening (LIG) initiative in high-density urban areas, in collaboration with its food aid NGO partners.  The main aim of the programme is to improve the quality of the diet of households affected by AIDS through consumption of a greater quantity of nutritious foods and to realise cost-savings by minimising in-puts.  

Specifically designed for urban areas, the LIG programme maximises the diversity of food that can be grown in small plots.  Growing vegetables and herbs in small mixed plots and containers, including grow bags and tin pots, using minimal inputs, has been enthusiastically taken up by different partner organisations who in turn pass on the approaches and techniques to relatives and neighbours.  

In addition to having far-reaching effects on increased food production, LIG has helped raise awareness of HIV and AIDS issues. To date, hundreds of gardens have been established - at community centres, schools, households, and on city council land and in each case, LIG has been the entry point for talks on positive living, good nutrition, and mitigating the effects of HIV and AIDS.  A number of NGOs are scaling-up their gardening outreach through monthly training courses, advocating for increased access to city council land, and expanding to community-based organisations and rural partners.  In the case of one of the school garden projects, all the produce is sold to raise funds to support the orphans in the community.  

Through a recent household survey, JSI Europe found that in addition to increased food yields, LIG has produced a number of other benefits, such as:  increased self-esteem amongst people with HIV and AIDS, dietary improvements, financial savings, improved soil and reduced water use, and income generation.  Mothers with disabled children who require extensive care are also pleased with these gardens as they are not labour intensive, giving the mothers more time to spend with their children.  Chronically ill persons and their caregivers report improved quality of life and less stigma and social isolation as community members combine their efforts to tend to the gardens and share the produce.   As one HIV+ LIG volunteer noted, "Before my neighbours would ignore me.  Now they are always asking for my advice."  

In mid-2005, JSI Europe partnered with ActionAid International to integrate the LIG programme into NGO capacity building support.

To further support the programme, JSI Europe has produced a concise handbook on LIG as well as a booklet on the culinary and agricultural uses of indigenous and exotic herbs.  A quarterly newsletter is distributed to all of the volunteers involved in the programme.  (See http://www.jsieurope.org to download copies of these publications.)


Shampa Nath
Knowledge Management Advisor
John Snow International - Europe
66 South Lambeth Road
Vauxhall
London
SW8 1RL
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7735 7149
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7735 4890
www.jsieurope.org