Project Launch: 11-18-15

Working with the Mushishiro Health Center and volunteer community health workers, this project will produce 65 local permagardens, designed to mimic natural systems to capture and hold rainfall in an extremely efficient manner. The permagardens require low maintenance and have high yields, and will support food security and improved nutrition in the surrounding 28 villages.  

Project Update: 4/30/16

To date, all of the volunteer community health workers of Mushishiro have been trained on permagarden and sustainable agriculture theories and have assisted in building gardens in each village cell. During the trainings, each participant created an action plan to build their own home gardens as well as to assist other community members in creating their own.  

Final Update: 7.20.16

84 community health workers were successfully trained about how to build, maintain and profit from permagardening. Permagardens require less water and yield a larger variety of crops compared to traditional gardens. The community health workers built an initial permagarden at the health center as well as additional permagardens in local villages. The community health workers were also trained in soy milk, tofu, and peanut butter production to address the lack of access to protein in the community. The community health workers will replicate this knowledge with the community members, thereby increasing awareness of positive nutrition.  

Testimonials

"The Permagarden is very important because it helps to address the malnutrition in the community. It is small so the people have enough land to actually make it, which is important because many people here do not have much land. It also helps because the soil here can be very bad, and the garden is built in a way that makes the soil better." - Theogene, Project Participant

"The project is good because it helps to address the malnutrition and food security because the families take the food from the Permagarden and the food is fresh to feed their families." - Celestine, Project Leader  

"This project is great because it includes all people and helps improve the entire family's nutrition, which in turn increases their overall health. Each garden produces a lot of vegetables and does so close to the house, allowing for each family to have access to good food." - Theogene, Project Participant