Improving Household Gardening Skills

Solomon Islands
Kastom Gaden Association

Training Tools for
Pacific Island Communities
HOUSEHOLD
GARDENING SKILLS
HOUSEHOLD
GARDENING SKILLS
Russ Grayson + Tony Jansen

Training Tools for
Pacific Island Communities
Improved Household
Gardening Skills
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2003
Improved Household Gardening Skills
© 2003 Kastom Gaden Association South Pacific Commission
Published by Kastom Garden Association, This manual has been produced with the
Solomon Islands 2003 assistance of the South Pacific Commission.
Development aid agencies working

to improve food security may copy
part of the content of the Improved
Household Gardening Skills manual with
the permission of the Kastom Gaden
Association.
Applications for such permission, with a

statement of the purpose and extent of
reproduction, should be addressed to the
Kastom Gaden Association, PO Box 972,
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Honiara, Solomon Islands.
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Permission to copy the flip chart graphics
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and handouts for students in the manual is
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given for instructional purposes.
Although the authors and publisher of

Improved Household Gardening Skills have
taken care to include information which has �
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been tested in the field, no responsibility
can be accepted for the consequences
of applying any of the information in the
manual.
2 IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL

Acknowledgements
Authors
Tony Jansen Kastom Garden Program/ Kastom Gaden Association
manager, Solomon Islands
Russ Grayson Terracircle Inc.
Roselyn Kabu Maenouri Kastom Gaden Association regional coordinator,

Malaita Province, Solomon Islands
Additional content provided by:

Mary Timothy seed curator, Planting Material Network, Solomon Islands
Wendy Betsy seed curator, Planting Material Network, Solomon Islands
Florence Nodoro administrative assistant, Kastom Gaden Association,
Solomon Islands.
Editors:
Tony Jansen. Kastom Garden Program manager, Solomon Islands
Russ Grayson Terracircle Inc., Sydney, Australia
Graphics
Photography Russ Grayson, Tony Jansen
Design & production

Terracircle Inc www.terraciricle.org.au
IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL 3

Words from a wise gardener...
“Something must be done to
save... agriculture in general,
especially community and family
gardening.
The answer lies in our knowledge
of the situation, willingness
to learn, kindness to act and
simplicity to live with nature in a
God-given natural world.
What this means is that we must
come to work with the natural
world and be part of it.
This way of life starts in the
garden, where we grow food
and tend the soil that sustains
us”.
Joini Tutua, Zai and Tina Organic
Farm, Honiara/deputy premier
Choiseul Province,
Solomon Islands

Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Improved Household Gardening Skills Manual—background: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Improved Household Gardening Skills manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Planning the training program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Guide for trainers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

1. Planning the workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2. Introductory session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3. Participants define expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Training session outline: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

4. Living fences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5. Basket gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6. Table gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
7. Mulched gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
8. Making an open air nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
9. Using legumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
10. Safe management of garden pests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
11. Keeping chickens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
12. Nutrition and local food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
13. Community food security assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Attachments: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Flip chart graphics: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

1. Living and non-living fences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
2. Basket gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
3. Table garden. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
4. Using mulch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
5. Making a nursery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
6. Legumes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
7. Safe Pest Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
8. Keeping of chickens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
9. Nutrition and local food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Preface
This book has been written for community As well as work with the Kastom Gaden
extension workers, government field Association training program, members
officers and non-government organisations. of the team based in the Solomon Islands
Production of the Improved Household have also worked with the Solomon Islands
Gardening Skills manual has been made Planting Material Network. The Network
possible through funding from APACE is a seed exchange which produces and
(Appropriate Technology for Community distributes seeds to Solomon Island farmers.
and Environment), an Australian non- Cooperation between the Solomon Island
government organisation which, after staff and organisations such as APACE,
20 years of involvement in the Solomon the Seed Savers Network, Pacific Edge
Islands and other South Pacific islands, and other organisations and individuals
ceased operations in 2002. based in Australia have made the Kastom
The manual describes how old and Garden Program and its successor, the
new techniques can be combined to Kastom Gaden Association, an example of
provide Pacific island communities with a successful regional development program.
an ecologically sustainable approach The program shows that small non-
to subsistence home gardening. The government organisations and individuals
techniques can also be used to grow crops can make a difference.
for sale at markets. ...the authors
The authors of the manual all have

experience in growing crops using organic
methods and of teaching the methods.
Note on terms
The terms farming, gardening and home
gardening are used interchangeably in this
manual.
All of the terms refer to the management

of subsistence food gardens (sometimes
referred to as gardens, home gardens
or farms). The gardens or small farms
are traditionally located in the bush
surrounding permanent villages in the
Pacific Islands.
The term sup sup garden refers to a small,

family managed food production garden
within the village boundaries, usually near
the home, or on the edge of the village. Tony Jansen

This section provides an introduction to the importance of
village food production in the South Pacific
• Background:
- Village agriculture—an activity important to health
- The importance of the home food garden
• The Improved Household Gardening Skills manual:
- purpose
- structure
- innovative approaches
• Planning the training program:
Background
Village agriculture—an • marine environments such as beaches,
activity important to health lagoons and the deep sea provide the
fish that brings protein to village diets
Subsistence gardening sustains the
nutritional health of people throughout the • the immediate village environment
South Pacific. Small scale cash cropping where nuts, fruit and other foods are
produces income for village gardeners who often planted.
are able to produce extra crops for sale at
local markets.
Gardening important to all
Village agriculture is important to people
Gardening is mainly an activity of village living in towns and cities.
women. In Melanesia, slash and burn, also
known as swidden cultivation, remains the The fresh food sold in town markets in the
main type of gardening practiced by rural South Pacific comes mainly from farmers in
communities. the nearby countryside.
The farming techniques taught by Kastom

Food from many sources Gaden Association (KGA) trainers are also
Food production at the village level useful for people who want to grow food in
involves complex decisions about the use towns.
of resources in the local environment.
A range of foods are derived from the

Influences on village
ecosystems that make up the environment food production
of a village: In the South Pacific, gardening for food
• bush gardens—where root crops, grains production is influenced by:
and vegetables are produced • objective factors such as:
• swamps—foods such as the giant - soil type and quality
swamp taro, which is several times the - the availability of seed and planting
size of commonly used taro varieties, material
grows in swamps
- farmer knowledge and motivation
• mangroves—mangrove seeds are cooked
- seasonal planting practices
and eaten in Melanesia
• cultural factors such as:
• forests—provide a source of bush food,
- land ownership
medicines, building materials and fibre
and are cleared for swidden gardens - landuse traditions
• nut groves—a variety of nuts are - the choice of crops
found throughout the South Pacific; the - availability of time and labour
narli nut and cut nut are found in the - family and community
Solomon Islands and varieties are used responsibilities.
as food in PNG
• rivers

The importance of Small nutrition gardens
the home food garden In some Pacific Islands, the idea of making
In the Pacific Islands, a well managed home small nutrition gardens in the village, close
garden can produce a year-round supply of to the house, is becoming popular. On
nutritious food. some islands, these are known as sup-sup
gardens, so named because the vegetables
Combined with protein foods such as can be cooked in a pot to make ‘soup’.
fish, the home garden can be a source of
improved nutritional health for the whole The thinking behind sup-sup gardens is
family. If chickens are kept, they can that, with the garden in easy reach of the
provide additional protein food such as house, vegetable crops will be used more
eggs and meat. frequently.
Combined with fish and staple root crops

The improved home garden such as sweet potato, taro, cassava and
The innovative home (or bush) gardener yam, or combined with rice, nutritionally
can add value to their garden and reduce balanced meals are more likely to be
the amount of food they buy through: prepared. Rice is bought from the trade
• collecting, drying and saving their own store, however innovative farmers are now
seed for replanting experimenting with the growing of upland
• exchanging seeds with other gardeners (dry) rice.
• making a nursery where they can grow In the Solomon Islands and Bougainville,
new plants Kastom Gaden Association trainers
• setting aside space in the garden where encourage the making of sup-sup gardens.
they can experiment with new ideas
• growing fruit trees
• making a small, fenced vegetable garden
close to the house
• keeping chickens for eggs and meat in a
simple pen made from bush materials.
Trainers working for government and non-

government organisations can introduce
these value-adding activities once training
program participants have acquired the
improved gardening skills described in this
manual.
The home food garden is important to the

production of a range of vegetable foods
for Pacific Island families.
Increasing the productivity of home gardens

without exhausting the soil, security of access
to seeds and the saving and exchange
of seeds are important for communities
with a limited a supply of land to meet the
challenges of a growing population.

Home sup-sup gardens encouraged by Kastom Gaden Association
promote a balanced diet trainers. Close to the house, the gardens
can be harvested each day as needed.
Traditional bush gardens are located at
varying distances from the village and are
managed by rotational fallow. Making a sup-sup garden
requires skills
The gardens are cropped for perhaps a
To make a successful and durable sup-sup
couple years, then left in fallow to recover
garden, gardeners need to gain skills in:
their fertility for between one and twenty
years. The villages are permanent and • low cost fencing
the bush gardens are cleared in the land • improvement and maintenance of soil
surrounding the villages. fertility.
Most farmers visit their bush gardens only Nursery skills are useful for growing some
two or three times a week, depending on vegetables, especially those started from
what stage of the cropping cycle they are small seeds. With these skills, villagers will
at. be able to grow food close to the house.
Without them, sup-sup gardens usually fail
The root crops grown in the bush due to:
gardens—the crops that form the dietary
staple of Solomon Islanders and other • the destruction of crops by domestic
Pacific peoples—can be stored for a few animals because of poor fence
weeks. Leafy greens and fruiting vegetables construction or no fencing at all
perish within one to three days. • garden abandonment because of poor
soil fertility
It is for this reason that the growing of
• poor seedlings growth leading to poor
leafy greens and other vegetables in the
harvests.
home sup-sup garden, close to the house, is
Bush gardens
The entire food needs of a family cannot be
produced in a small sup-sup garden. Bush
gardens will continue to play an important
role in family nutrition.
It is in the bush garden that staple foods

will continue to be produced—foods such
as:
• taro
• sweet potato
• yam
• cassava.
Training village farmers in ecologically

sustainable farming practices will help
maintain the viability of bush gardens.
These practices include:

• the use of mulch to maintain soil fertility
and to prevent soils drying out
• the prevention of soil erosion
Bush gardens produce a diversity of plants,
including the staple root crops • understanding the soil building process.

Two types of Pacific island garden...
The bush garden,
supplemented by fishing
and to a lesser extent by
hunting, is the traditional
source of sustenance
for Pacific island rural
communities.
In the Solomon Islands,
bush gardens are
sometimes made on steep
land and may be some
distance from the village.
The small nutrition garden

near the dwelling in the
village is comparatively
rare in the Solomon
Islands.
Because such gardens
make the picking of a
range of vegetables for a
mixed family meal easy,
they are promoted by
KGA field staff.

Improved Household
Gardening Skills manual
Purpose Structure
The purpose of this manual is to assist The Improved Household Gardening Skills
agricultural extension workers from manual consists of three sections—a guide
both government and non-government to assist trainers in their work, outlines
organisations to introduce methods of of the training sessions including student
ecologically sustainable agriculture to handouts and attachments consisting of
Pacific Island communities. graphics for photocopying and enlarging for
The contents of the manual have been use as flip charts.
gleaned from the experience of the
Kastom Garden Program (KGP) and the Introduction
work of its successor, the Kastom Gaden This section provides an introduction to
Association (KGA), which have operated in the manual, notes on the KGP approach
the Solomon Islands since 1995. All of the to the planning of training programs and
methods described have been tested in the background reading on the importance to
field by KGA staff. health of village-based food production.
Guide for trainers:

This section is about the training process
and preparation for training:
1. Planning the workshop
2. Introductory session
3. Participants define expectations.
Trainers planning workshop sessions

Training session outline: Innovative approaches
This section of the Improved Household In the training of village farmers and
Gardening Skills manual you will find community groups, the KGP and, since
lesson outlines that will assist you to 2001, the KGA have made use of a variety
organise workshops. of approaches. These include:
It will also help you to teach the skills of • Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
improved gardening and how to make • Participatory Technology Development
and/or use: with farmers (PTD)
4. Living and non-living fences • community food security assessment.
5. Basket gardens
The methods featured in the manual are
6. Table gardens
drawn from the practice of low-external-
7. Mulch gardens
input sustainable agriculture which
8. Open air nursery encourages farmer and regional self-reliance
9. Using legumes through:
10. Safe management of garden pests • substitution of externally sourced
11. Keeping chickens agricultural inputs by locally produced
12. Nutrition and local food inputs, as far as practical
13. Community food security assessment. • farmer innovation
• the use of relevant traditional
Attachments (flip chart graphics): knowledge.
1. Living and non-living fences:
2. Basket gardens
3. Table gardens
4. Using mulch
5. Making a nursery
6. Legumes
7. Safe pest management
8. Keeping chickens
9. Nutrition and local food.

Planning the training program
The workshop also allows the trainers to:
The Participatory Technology Development
• get to know the farmers
(PTD) methodology we use was modelled
on the experience of farmer groups in • gain an idea of the food production
Africa and other countries. situation in the village and the

influences on it
It has been reported in the reference journal • build a relationship with farmers.
LEISA (Low External Input Sustainable
Agriculture) and in the book Developing Get to know our partners
Technology With Farmers—A Trainer’s During this stage, we get to know the
Guide for Participatory Learning (1997; van farmers and other stakeholders involved.
Veldhuizen and others; ETC Netherlands:
Zed Books, London). These may include:
• community groups
1. Preliminary workshop • women’s groups
The first stage in our approach to • church organisations
agricultural training is the community food • community leaders
security assessment. • government personnel

• non-government organisations.
Because this is an involved process, we
might hold an introductory workshop Our aim in doing this is to encourage
in gardening skills, such as making a sup stakeholders from the villages to tell us
sup garden, with the farmers. The purpose what they want to do and not what we
of this workshop is to allow the farmers to: want them to do.
• get to know the trainers
• gain some idea of the skills they can
Discovering problems and solutions
learn through the training program. After getting to know the groups we can
work with, we learn from them about
agricultural problems in their communities.
After identifying the problems

we investigate with those
communities the potential
solutions or alternatives to their
situation.
All of this is done through the

use of PRA processes such as
focus group discussion, surveys,
mapping and matrix scoring.
Kastom Garden Program regional

coordinator, Roselyn Kabu
(right) leads a process to collect
information about crops grown
at Takwa village, north Malaita
Province, Solomon Islands

2. Community food security how the trials went, what problems were
assessment encountered and what solutions were tried.
The process of agricultural improvement Innovative farmers are encouraged to
used by the KGA starts with the information discover their own solutions and then share
gathering part—the community food their experience with others.
security assessment (see workshop 13).
Monitor progress
The assessment:
While the program of workshops and field
• identifies the needs of village farmers
visits are being implemented, we monitor
• provides the basis for planning the
them so we gain some idea of how they are
training program. progressing and if there is a need to modify
the program.
3. Planning the training
If necessary, the program can be evaluated
workshops after it has ended so we can improve on our
The next stage is to plan the training work in future.
program. Here we plan the workshops
through which the farmers will acquire
5. Sharing results
skills.
After all of the trials have been concluded,
Scheduling the workshops is done with we organise workshops for the farmers
the farmers so training does not conflict where they share their findings. This way,
with times of intensified farming activity or we develop a group conclusion to the
cultural obligation. experimentation and assessment.
A series of workshops can be held in the

4. Training program local language and we can ask some of the
implementation and monitoring experienced, innovative farmers to become
involved in facilitation and to share their
Help farmers find solutions
knowledge.
To use the PTD process, we encourage
farmers to try out some of the potential Farmers are encouraged to talk about their
solutions and techniques in their fields. experiences with other farmers.
We help farmers find solutions to their
problems. We don’t come up with the Sustaining innovation
answers ourselves, instead we try to help Led by the innovative farmers and promising
farmers solve their own problems or find future leaders, the PTD process can be
alternatives. expanded into other villages. This is done
through farmer tours and exchanges where
Farmer field trials groups of farmers visit each other’s gardens
The farmer field trials allow farmers to to see the innovations being made there.
assess potential solutions for themselves.
In this way, an expanding network is
On the basis of their experience during the
developed. This leads to the spread of
field trials, they can decide for themselves
innovation because the farmers become
whether they want to adopt the techniques
empowered to analyse, understand and find
and new ideas in their own gardens.
their own solutions to their own problems.
The farmer field trials can continue for
some time. When the trainers return for
follow-up visits, they organise a tour of
the farmer field trials so the group learns

Participatory Technology Development (PTD) in
agriculture is a process of interaction between local
people and outside facilitators to develop more
sustainable farming systems.
It starts with a joint analysis of the situation, an activity
commonly know as PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal).
It continues by including participatory planning,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of local
development activities.
The heart of PTD is experimentation with new ideas
designed and conducted by farmers with the
encouragement of PTD practitioners.
...Developing Technology with Farmers; Zed Books, London
PTD approach to field assessment and training

identify project stakeholders who will be involved
identify agricultural problems
identify solutions through field trials
share knowledge of successful field trials

This section is about the training process and preparation for training.
1. Planning the workshops
3. Participants define expectations

Guide for trainers
1. Planning the workshops

Training should be practical Choose your outcomes
Work out the outcomes you want from the
Kastom Gaden Association trainers have
session. What will students be able to do at
developed a three stage training approach
the end of the session?
that emphasises practical activities:
• talk about it—explain the technique Knowing the outcomes you want brings
and the benefits of using it focus to your training and helps you decide
• see it—demonstrate the technique or what to include and what to leave out.
skill so the trainees see it being done Keeping to the teaching principle of
• do it—assist the trainees to acquire the providing information in small, easy-to-
technique by doing it for themselves, comprehend blocks helps achieve our
under the supervision of the trainer. learning outcomes.
Explaining and demonstrating a technique
helps participants in workshops Achieving your outcomes
comprehend it and how it fits into the How will you achieve your learning
farming cycle. Then, when they practice outcomes?
what has been explained and demonstrated,
Through:
they acquire the skills to make use of the
• presentation of information
technique in their own gardens.
• games
• small group activity
Organising training • garden visits
sessions • practicals
A well planned training session is more • some other technique.
likely to be successful, but no matter how
well a training session is planned there are How will you present the information
times when you will have to change from and build on each step? You can use
your plan to compensate for something demonstration, practice and analysis of
unexpected. Your planning should allow what has been taught.
for this flexibility.
Time your activities
Here are some things to think about in
When you have chosen the activities that
planning your training session...
will make up your training session, give
them an estimated timing.
List the key areas
Make a list of the key areas you want to Try to keep as close as possible to this
cover. timing so your training session does not
run overtime.
How are they relevant to the people who
will attend the training session? If you run overtime you might have to
leave something else out later.

Summary and closing • practicals: always apply all of the
At the end of each part of your training methods you have talked about or
session, summarise the main points of explored; if people then go and practice
what you have taught to help participants the methods they are more likely to use
remember them. them in their own gardens.
When the session finishes for the day, Throughout the session, monitor participant
summarise the main points of what you energy levels and, if they are becoming
have covered over the whole day. tired, change to a more participatory and
active mode of teaching.
Use questioning to help the participants
feed back what they remember—ask them Plan breaks to divide up the day.
what they remember about what was Whenever the group appears tired you can
covered. choose an ‘energiser’ activity that involves
This is an important part of the day’s movement.
training, so allow enough time to do it.
Then, if training is to continue the next day, Prepare materials
briefly preview that day’s material. Obtain and prepare any materials before
the training session.
After the first day, it is a good idea to do
some revision exercises each morning. This Flip charts should be drawn up after the
refreshes people’s memory of what was lesson has been planned but before it
covered the day before. starts and other materials gathered. Take
extra flip chart paper and marker pens for
Watch participant energy participants to use.
and motivation When a person is facilitating a session, the
To keep students interested and to maintain other trainers should assist in preparing
their energy, plan to use a variety of materials for the following session.
teaching methods such as:
• presentations with flip charts on brown Meet to assess activities
paper (using diagrams and pictures as The facilitation team should meet in the
well as written words where literacy evening after the day’s activities or in the
skills are low) morning before activities start to monitor
• participatory activities such as making how the training is going.
maps and tables of information on the
ground This is the time to allocate responsibilities
• questioning to engage the participants
for the next sessions and to ensure that
in thinking and sharing their ideas and materials are ready.
knowledge
• role play to illustrate an important point
• site visits to see and explain something
and to learn about other people’s
experience
• small group activities in which the
participants are divided into groups to
work on something, then share their
findings when the group comes back
together

Sample training timetable
Following is a sample training timetable for a day.
The timetable you draw up will take into account:
• the time available to participants

• their other daily responsibilities such as family meal preparation, social activities and work
commitments.
8.00am: group introductions—who people are and what they hope to get from the day
+ introduction of the learning objectives
8.30am: group activity, information collection, needs identification, problem
identification etc + report back to main group
9.00am: demonstration of some part of the training
10.30am: break
11.00am: presentation
12–1.30pm: lunch break
1.30–2.30pm: field visit or practical
3–3.30pm: discussion about what was seen during field visit or learned during the practical
3.30pm: summary of key points covered during the day
4pm: conclusion; ask each person to tell the group one thing they have learned
during the day.
The trainer
Trainers are very special people because they:
• are motivated to help others achieve their basic needs
• have enthusiasm for their work
• are patient
• continually seek out new information to pass onto participants in their programs — they are
continually learning
• have an extensive knowledge of what they teach
• are good communicators, passing on knowledge in easy-to-manage pieces and in
language that participants can understand easily
• are problem solvers
• practice what they teach and experiment with new ideas in their own gardens
• learn from the participants in their workshops
• seek feedback about their teaching from staff members, program participants and
colleagues
• understand the limitations and opportunities of village life
• are good organisers of people, events and resources
• have a warm and friendly personality to create a relaxed learning environment
• network with their colleagues and contacts
• have skills in working with and organising people and have good group dynamics skills
• have skills in conflict resolution.

Checklist for trainers
Organising the training
• what negotiations/ arrangements are necessary with village decision makers to organise the
training?
• will a translator be needed to translate into local language?
• has an appropriate time been chosen for the training —
is the time free of work or cultural obligations?
• has an appropriately sized training venue been organised and
has workshop space been selected?
• is it necessary to plan follow-up workshops?
• has a place been chosen to make a sup-sup garden?
• who will look after the garden following the workshop?
Planning the training

• how many participants are expected and who are they?
• what seating arrangements would be suitable?
• has time been allocated for the different sessions and workshops?
• have resources been gathered for each session or workshop? (flip charts/ blackboard/
colour marker pens/ string/ materials for PRA and practical sessions)
• what do you know about the food/ nutrition/ health and other circumstances of the
community?
• what process will be used—small group activities/ lecturing/ case studies/ brainstorming/
role play/ garden visits/ practical workshop in the garden?
• what are the key issues to address?
• how will the material be brought together in a summary?
• who will make a written record of the workshop if needed?
• who will produce a written report?
• what are the key questions to ask to find out if the participants have understood the
material?
• how will you obtain participant feedback?
• how will you identify your own learnings from the training?
• how will you make sure that women are free to express themselves and fully participate?
• who are the local experts or innovative farmers who will be resource people during the
workshop and whose gardens can be used for visits?
Logistics
• what garden sites are available for field visits and workshops?
• what are the food arrangements for participants?
• are you using local food for catering?
• what are the arrangements for field worker accommodation and
food if staying in the village?
• what transport arrangement are necessary?

Guide for trainers
Outcome Procedure
At the end of this session, workshop 1. Break the group into pairs
participants will have been introduced to 2. The pairs get to know each other—
each other and to the facilitators. 10 minutes
3. Each person introduces their partner
and what they learned during the
Key messages
getting-to-know period.
Participants work together better when they
know each other.
The first day of a training workshop is a
time when participants get to know each
Approach other (if they do not do so already) and the
After the official opening, participants trainers and to clarify what they hope to get
introduce themselves. from the training.
Facilitators introduce themselves after the For the trainer, it is a time to listen carefully,
participants. plan to accommodate as many of the
participant’s expectations as is reasonable
and to explain what the workshop is about.
It is necessary to make clear to the

participants what they should get from the
training.

Guide for trainers
3. Participants define expectations

Outcome Procedure
At the end of this session, workshop 1. Facilitator explains to participants that:
participants will have made a list of their • the workshop will be adjusted to
expectations for the workshops. accommodate as many of their
expectations as possible within time
and resource limits
Key messages
• it may not be possible to cover some
Participant expectations are most likely to
expectations in the workshop
be met when they have been clarified and
explained. 2. Hand out three to five cards to
each participant and asks them to
write or draw a picture of one of their
Approach expectations on each card
Participants identify, clarify and discuss 3. Participants explain the expectations
their expectations of the workshop. on their cards to the group
4. Facilitator sticks cards on a board,
trying to group them according to
common expectations
5. Facilitator summarises the
expectations presented
6. The workshop then takes a break.
During the break the facilitators:
• select the groups of expectations they
can cover in the workshop
• allocate time to each on a workshop
timetable; any remaining time is
used to cover standard improved
household gardening topics
• each group of expectations is
assigned to a separate day.

This section contains lesson outlines to assist you to organise workshops in:
4. Living fences
5. Basket gardens
6. Table gardens
7. Mulched gardens
8. Open air nursery
9. Using legumes
10. Safe management of garden pests
11. Keeping chickens
12. Nutrition and local food
13. Community food security assessment

Training session outline
4. Living fences
Outcomes Materials
By the end of this session participants will
be able to make a living fence to keep ...for discussion
chickens and pigs out of their sup-sup • flip chart showing examples of living
garden. fences—see Attachment 1, Living and
non-living fences flip charts graphics:
a) Living fence of pineapple
Key messages
b) Living fence of Gliricidia trees and
• animals can damage your garden
bamboo
• a living fence keeps animals such as
c) Living fence of vetiver grass
chickens, pigs and dogs out of your
d) Big bush garden divided by living
garden
fences
• a living fence should be made so that it
e) Non-living fence of old fishing net
does not need much maintenance
and posts
• a living fence can be used for food and
f) Non-living fence of logs
to produce mulch.
...for building a living fence

Approach • seedlings or cuttings of plants suitable to
use for a living fence
...discuss
• hoe or digging stick for planting
• the benefits of making a living fence
seedlings
around the garden
• water for seedlings after planting.
• the best plants to use to make a living
fence.
...for making a gate
• strong sticks from bush to make a gate
...practice
in the living fence
• take participants through the building of
• bush rope to make gate.
a living fence around a small garden.
A living fence of hibiscus encloses a

garden planted to shallots.
Malaita Province, Solomon Islands.

b) Living fence of Gliricidia trees and
Procedure bamboo
The trainer introduces the subject and
explains the objectives of the session—5–10
minutes. d) Big bush garden divided by living
fences
e) Non-living fence of old fishing net
Stage 1
and posts
Explain why making a living fence is
useful in protecting our gardens from
animals: Trainers should enlarge the illustrations
• animals can damage our gardens and eat onto A3 size paper, if available.
the food growing in them
• it is best to plant the living fence before Stage 3
planting vegetables.
Make a living fence
1. If planting material is not available to
Stage 2 make a living fence, break the workshop
Show what a living fence looks like. into smaller groups to forage for suitable
• show flip chart graphics of living fences planting materials.
in attachment 1. 2. Use sticks to mark out the garden; leave
See Attachment 1 for flip-chart graphics that a space for a gate.
can be used in this stage: 3. Plant out the living fence.
4. Build a simple gate strong enough to
1. Living and non-living fences flip charts
keep out animals but that is easy to use.
graphics:
5. Walk around the living fence with the
group to inspect it; look for weak points;
if there are places where the plants have
been planted too far apart, fill in the
spaces with more plants.
6. Discuss the use of other materials to
make a fence, such as old fishing net
and chicken wire.
Pineapple interplanted with hibiscus as a living

fence. The hibiscus grows into a taller barrier. The
pineapple fills the spaces between the hibiscus
shrubs.
An advantage of this type of living fence is that the
pineapple plants produce edible fruit.
Notice the participants from Sasamunga village
dancing and having fun during the practicals.

HANDOUT FOR STUDENTS
Living fences Some types of

living fences:
A living fence is a low-cost way to keep
animals out of the garden. It is a border
Living fence of pineapple
around your garden.
The pineapple plants are placed close
The living fence should be made so that it together so that their leaves touch when
lasts a long time. It should not need much they have grown and they form a barrier.
maintenance.
Inside you plant vetiver grass close together
to keep chickens from flying over the
Keeping out animals pineapples.
A living fence can keep animals such as
chickens, pigs and dogs out of your garden. A gate has been built to provide easy
access for people.
Animals can damage a garden and eat
your crops.
Plants for living fences

These include:
• pineapple
• gliricidia
• vetiver grass
Gliricidia and bamboo fence
• tea grass (lemon grass)
Large cuttings of Gliricidia trees are planted
• hibiscus.
as posts.
Vetiver is probably the best plant to use to
Bamboo poles are cut and tied to the
make a living fence because the leaves are
Gliricidia posts.
stiff and upright. The clumps of vetiver grass
can be planted close together to form a The bamboo poles are tied close together to
dense barrier around the garden and will live stop chickens and dogs climbing between
for a long time. them and getting into the garden.
Slash the regrowth to stop the Gliricidia
How to make a living fence shading the garden. Use the foliage as mulch
1. Collect seedlings to make the fence from on the garden to improve the soil.
2. Plant with equal spacing but close
enough to form a solid barrier when fully
grown; how close plants are planted
depends on how they grow; vetiver and
tea grass can be planted close and
larger plants spaced further apart; larger
plants might need vetiver or tea grass
planted between them to form a dense
barrier.
3. Water the plants regularly while they are
growing.
4. Plant more plants where there is too
big a gap between them.
5. Replace any plants that do not grow.
© Kastom Gaden Association— IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS

Living fence of vetiver grass

Vetiver grass is a stiff clumping grass which
is planted close together to make a living
fence.
Non-living fences
Vetiver grass makes one of the most
successful of living fences. Non-living fences can be made from many
materials.
The vetiver grass should be
planted first and left to grow tall A disadvantage of non-living fences is that
before planting any seedlings. they need more maintenance than a living
This will take about six fence. Non-living fences may rot quickly in
months. hot, wet climates. They will need rebuilding.
Non-living fences must be made of strong
materials and must be well built.
Non-living fence of old fishing net

and posts
To make a non-living fence of old fishing net
stretched between posts, pull the net tight
and tie it to the posts with rope. Any holes in
Big bush garden divided by the net must be sewn closed to stop animals
living fences getting into the garden.
A large garden can be divided into smaller
gardens by living fences. Gates are made to
allow the gardeners to move between the
separate gardens. Different crops are grown
in the smaller gardens.
The plants in the living fence must be planted
close enough to grow into a thick barrier.
Animals will find any gaps
and get into the garden Non-living fence of logs
and cause damage. The Logs have been placed around
living fence can be cut the garden and used to divide the
regularly to provide mulch garden into smaller gardens.
for the garden.

5. Basket gardens
Outcomes Materials
By the end of this session participants will
be able to make a compost ‘basket’ garden. ...discussion
• flip chart graphic (see Attachment 2)
Key messages ...demonstration

• a basket garden are less likely to be • bamboo
damaged by chickens, dogs and pigs • dry banana leaves
• the use of organic matter is necessary to • organic matter of different types
feed the soil.
• soil
• seeds
Approach • timber and nails.
...discuss
• advantages of using basket gardens.
...demonstrate
• take participants through the building
of a basket garden.
...practice
• make compost baskets in each corner of
the sup-sup garden.
Making a basket garden from bamboo,

banana leaf and organic matter

Procedure Stage 2: Making basket gardens
The trainer introduces the subject and 1. Demonstrate the building of a basket
explains the objectives of the session—5–10 garden.
minutes. 2. Break into groups to collect different
materials:
Stage 1: Description • bamboo
1. Describe what a basket garden is (see • plenty of dry banana leaves
Attachment 2). • different types of rotting organic
2. Group discusses what the advantages matter
might be of having basket gardens near • soil—black and rich in organic matter
their house. if possible.
3. Break into four groups. Each group
makes a compost basket in a corner of
the sup-sup garden.
• cut the bamboo into narrow stakes
about 1-1.5 meters long
• push the bamboo stakes into the
ground in a circle 50-100 centimetres
wide
• weave the dry banana leaves in and
out between the bamboo stakes;
keep weaving until the leaves are
close to the top or at least 50cm high
• place layers of organic matter, soil
then more organic matter until the
basket is close to full
• plant seeds inside a final layer of soil;
it is best to plant climbers such as
beans, snake bean, yam or pana (a
type of yam)
• place a long stick or piece of bamboo
with branches for the plant to climb.
Workshop participants making a basket garden
A woman shows banana fibre pots

she has made. The planting boxes
are part of an open air nursery on the
island of Wagina

6. Table gardens
Outcomes ...demonstrate
By the end of this session participants will • guide participants through building a
be able to make a table garden to produce table garden.
food without damage from domestic
animals.
Key messages
• a table garden is a popular way to
grow some vegetables safe from
animals
• the use of organic matter is necessary
to feed the soil.
Approach
...discuss ...practice
• talk about some of the problems of This exercise can only be done if there is
sup sup and bush gardens enough material available.
• discuss how table gardens are safe
from chickens and dogs and how they
are easy for older people to use
Materials
• collect timber ‘flooring’ and some
• look at flip chart graphic and discuss.
posts
(see Attachment 3).
• rotted and fresh coconut husk
• soil—nutruent-rich if possible
• mulch—cut grass or similar
• seeds.
A raised garden bed out of

reach of the chickens

Procedure Training note
The trainer introduces the subject and Both the basket garden and the table
explains the objectives of the session—5–10 garden include the burying of organic
minutes. matter under layers of soil.
When you do that you should bury only

Stage 1: Description organic matter that has started to rot.
1. Describe what a table garden is (see
Attachment 3).
2. Group discusses what the advantages
might be of having a table garden near
their house.
Stage 2: Making a table garden

1. Using timber and posts collected, build
a table the size of which will depend
on timber available; ideally, the table
should be 1.5 to 2 metres wide and 2 to
4 metres long.
2. Attach walling at least 20cm high to the
sides of the table at the top.
3. Fill the inside of the walled area on top
of the table with coconut husk; this can
include grated fresh husk in a layer at
the bottom then rotted husk on top.
4. Fill the rest of the box with good soil.
5. Place some light grass mulch on top of
the soil.
6. Plant out—this type of garden is good
for Chinese cabbage, shallots, pepper,
tomato and other shallow rooted plants.
An old canoe used to make a

raised table garden

Basket gardens
Basket gardens are made from dry banana
leaf woven between bamboo sticks placed
in the ground. They are then filled with
organic matter.
The plant or seed is planted into the organic
matter.
Materials
• bamboo
• dry banana leaves
• organic matter of different types
• soil
• seeds
• timber and nails.
Procedure
• cut the bamboo into narrow stakes
about 1-1.5 meters long
• push the bamboo stakes into the
ground in a circle 50-100 centimetres
wide
• weave the dry banana leaves in and
out between the bamboo stakes; keep
weaving until the leaves are close to the
top or at least 50cm high
• place layers of organic matter, soil, then
more organic matter until the basket is
close to full
• plant seeds inside a final layer of soil; it
is best to plant climbers such as beans,
snake bean, yam or pana (a type of
yam)
• place a long stick or piece of bamboo
with branches for the plant to climb.

Table garden
The table garden lifts vegetables above
the reach of chickens, dogs and pigs.
Table gardens are used to grow shallow-
rooted vegetables such as Chinese
cabbage, tomatoes, pepper and shallots.
Materials
• collect timber ‘flooring’ and some posts
• rotted and fresh coconut husk
• soil—nutrient-rich if possible
• mulch—cut grass or similar
• seeds.
Procedure
1. Using timber and posts collected, build
a table the size of which will depend
on timber available; ideally, the table
should be 1.5 to 2 metres wide and 2 to
4 metres long.
2. Attach walling at least 20cm high to
the sides of the table at the top.
3. Fill the inside of the walled area on top
of the table with coconut husk; this can
include grated fresh husk in a layer at
the bottom then rotted husk on top.
4. Fill the rest of the box with good soil.
5. Place some light grass mulch on top of
the soil.
6. Plant out—this type of garden is good
for Chinese cabbage, shallots, pepper,
tomato and other shallow rooted
plants.

7. Mulched gardens
Outcomes ...demonstrate
By the end of this session, participants will Compare an unmulched garden with a
be able to make a mulched garden and mulched garden, if available.
will be able to explain the role of mulch in
feeding the garden soil. ...practice
• collect mulch from different sources
Key messages • make a mulched garden.
1. Using mulch on a garden helps plants
grow stronger. Materials
2. Mulch stops garden soil drying out Gardening tools to make a mulched garden:
quickly.
• bush knives
3. Mulch provides more food for plants that
• hoe or digging stick
slash and burn farming.
• seedlings/ seeds/ planting material
4. Mulch reduces soil erosion during heavy
• organic material to use as mulch—cut
rain.
grass, leaf litter, rotting coconut husks,
kitchen waste, cassava peel, sea grass,
Approach mangrove mud, banana trunks.
...discuss
Talk about the benefits of using mulch.
See Attachment 4 for flip-chart graphics

than can be used in this stage:
4. Using mulch
a) Soil problems: no mulch
b) Why use mulch?
c) Making a mulched garden
d) Materials for mulching
e) Mulching with Gliricidia.
A digging stick is used to make holes for

root crops between lines of mulch.
The digging stick is a traditional gardening

tool of the Solomon Islands. In some cases
it is a useful replacement for the hoe.

Procedure Stage 2
The trainer introduces the subject and Demonstrate the benefits of using mulch
explains the objectives of the session—5–10 1. Find a garden where mulch has been
minutes. used, if there is one:
It is very important to use practical teaching - ask the people to feel the
methods. temperature of the soil
or:
Introduce village farmers to the use of
mulch through a number of stages. Go to the forest and see how the ground
is covered in mulch:
Stage 1 - ask participants to feel the soil under
the mulch
Discuss the benefits of using
- discuss how the forest builds soil
mulch on food gardens
fertility.
Discuss the benefits of using organic
2. Find an unmulched garden and ask the
materials as mulch:
people to feel the temperature of the
• so that the mulch can break down to soil.
become food (nutrients) for our food 3. Ask the people to compare the
plants difference in the temperature of the soil
• to stop our soil being washed away and ask them which garden would dry
during heavy rain out the fastest.
• to stop our soil being dried out by the 4. Explain that
hot sun • the unmulched garden will dry out
Refer to graphic in Attachment 4b) about faster because the soil is hotter and
how organic matter feeds the soil. it is not protected from the sun by
mulch
• the soil will erode during heavy
rain.
5. Explain how soil organisms are not fed
or protected in unmulched gardens. This
means that fewer nutrients are available
for plants to absorb and grow healthy.
Compare non-mulched and mulched gardens
Non-mulched garden Mulched garden

Stage 3 Stage 4
Compare soils Make a mulched garden
1. Collect soil from the forest and show 1. Use the area fenced in an earlier session
people the organic matter content. or mark out an area to make a garden.
2. Compare the forest soil with soil from 2. Clear the area and line up the cut plants
a bush garden which has been slashed in rows; if the ground is steep make the
and burned for some time. rows across the slope instead of straight
3. Ask about and explain that the soil down; they will catch the soil washed
from the forest has more organic matter down the slope when it rains.
content because the fallen leaves have 3. Break the workshop into smaller groups
been allowed to break down into plant and send them out to collect organic
food instead of being burned. material to use as mulch.
4. Discuss how traditional farmers used 4. Lay out the collected organic matter
organic matter. Use examples of the in rows. The piles of organic matter
Tasimate slash and mulch and the Edu forming the rows should be very thick—
systems from the Solomon Islands, for about a third of a metre. You can use
example. small sticks to hold up the mulch piles if
needed. Lay different material in layers
eg. banana trunks, dry leaves, coconut
CASE STUDY husk, kitchen waste.
Asher Kula—Panarui, Choiseul Province 5. Demonstrate how to plant food crops
Asher used mulch in his new garden. He between the rows of mulch.
completely covered the soil with mulch. 6. Explain that the next crop will be
The results with beans, chinese cabbage and planted there the rows of mulch are
kumera were very good. now; show how the rows of mulch will
be heaped up where the food plants are
Jean Garaba—Sasamunga, Choiseul at present.
Province
7. Explain that this method is similar to
Jean did not burn her bush garden. She says
the traditional Tuku mulched gardening
her plants grew very well.
technique of Choiseul in the Solomon
Esta Islands.
The Ferasubua Women’s Group tried 8. Plant out he garden with a mixture of
mulching in Esta’s garden. leafy green vegetables and beans.
Esta reported that her garden was growing
well.
Takwa village—Malaita Province

Results from mulching in the short fallow
period are promising.
There has been no loss of production and the
increased mulch helped keep plants alive
during drought.
Mary Vule
Mary mulches all her gardens. She finds that Gardeners lay lines of mulch in their garden before
the plants grow well. planting seedlings. Although it looks like a lot of
mulch, it will soon break down
In the drought she did not do much weeding
because that would have left the soil bare.
The soil would have dried out easily.

Salathiel Sore, a gardener
from Sasamunga village,
Choiseul, Solomon Islands,
with a garden in which he
has planted vegetable
seeds in the rows between
the mulch strips.
The row of Gliricidia
trees have been slashed
and the foliage used for
mulching the garden.
New leaves can be seen
growing from the slashed
branches.
Mulch being placed on

to a new garden where
seedlings have been
planted.
Mulch has been placed

between the rows of
crops in this bush garden
on Malaita island in the
Solomons.
The mulch will break down
and improve the fertility of
the soil.

Mulched gardens
Mulch Why use mulch?

Mulch works like the leaf litter in the bush. • mulch help plants grow strong
Mulching is a traditional gardening technique when we use mulch on our gardens we

used in the Solomon Islands and in other help our plants to grow strong.
countries. mulch provides nutrients (food) for our
plants to grow.
Mulch in the forest • mulch protects our soils
When leaves fall from the trees in the bush. mulch stops the soil being washed away
They lay on the ground for some time. Soon, during heavy rain.
they break down into materials the trees use
• mulch keeps water in the soil for the
for food.
plants
our plants do not dry out so quickly.
• mulch cools the soil
roots don’t get damaged.
Soil problems
No mulch
Soil without mulch:
• dries out—no water for the plants
• gets hot—roots can be damaged
Mulch in the garden • has too little food for soil organisms–worms
When we put mulch on our gardens we copy • leave little nutrients for the plants
what happens in the bush.
Over time, the mulch on our gardens breaks
down just like the leaves in the bush. This
broken down mulch is food for our crop
plants.
• the mulch layer is made up of organic
material such as cut grass and leaves
placed on the soil in the garden
• the mulch layer needs to be replaced
when it has broken down.

Mulched gardens
Making a mulched garden Materials for mulching
1. Mulch is laid out in rows in the garden. USE: plants, leaves, grass, food scraps
2. Vegetable seedlings or seeds are planted DON’T USE: tins, bottles, plastic.
in rows between the rows of mulch,as the
mulch breaks down it feeds the
growing vegetable plants.
3. After the vegetables have been
harvested, the rows where they were
grown are mulched; vegetables are
planted in the rows where the mulch was
first placed.
Mulching with Gliricidia

Gliricidia trees can be
slashed and the leaves used
on the garden as mulch. The
trees will grow again.
Gliricidia can be grown in
rows with crops planted
between the rows.

8. Making an open air nursery

Outcomes Materials
By the end of this session, participants will
be able to: Nursery construction materials
• build a small nursery • bamboo or timber of different lengths
• describe the importance of the nursery. • saw or bush knife to cut timber
• hammer and nails or thin rope to hold
nursery seedling trays together
Key messages • seeds
• a nursery allows us to produce a
• stiff chilli wire for grating coconut
continuous supply of food plants for
husk
transplanting into the garden
• milo or milk can with holes and a
• young plants are easily protected and
bucket for watering.
cared for in the nursery
• building a small nursery makes our Coconut scraper
garden more productive • timber for framework
• a nursery is useful for plants like Chinese • stiff wire mesh for coconut grating
cabbage, pepper, tomato, eggplant. surface
or:
Approach • cassava grater or old tuna cans with
holes punched in them.
...discuss
• talk with the participants about the Organic market gardener, Joini Tutua,
benefits of making a nursery plants seeds into a seed tray
• discuss the types of seeds you plant in a

nursery.
...demonstrate
Production of growing mix:
• demonstrate how coconut is scraped for
use as a growing medium
• visit a nursery nearby, if available
• demonstrate how to mix the coconut husk
and soil to make a growing mix.
...practice
• collect rotting coconut husks for grating
• collect soil
• build nursery boxes from timber or
bamboo
• scrape rotting coconut husk for growing
medium.

Procedure There are two types of mix:
1 for germinating seed—use more coconut
husk than soil; three times as much
coconut husk as soil (3:1 ratio)
minutes.
2 for growing seedlings—this mix has two
Stage 1 times as much soil as coconut husk (2:1
ratio).
Discuss why a nursery is useful and how it
can help produce enough food for family Process:
nutrition and health. See Attachment 5 flip • fill the seed boxes with the shredded
chart graphics: coconut husk and soil mix—sterilise
a) Making a nursery: planting mix the soil before planting with boiling
b) Making a nursery: planting seeds water poured into the box; leave to cool
b) Transplanting seedlings. before sowing seed; this is important to
prevent fungal disease
Stage 2: Nursery needs
• demonstrate how to plant seeds into the
Discuss the needs of a nursery. Ask the
seed boxes, how to work out the depth
group:
to plant the seeds and how far apart to
• what they think the needs of a nursery space them—Chinese cabbage is a good
are seed with which to demonstrate planting
• how they could supply these needs as it germinates quickly—see flip chart
• to make a list of materials needed to graphic Attachment 5b
make a nursery and grow plants in it • ask the group to practice planting
• discuss examples of nurseries for the • water the planted seeds
practical. • cover the seed boxes with a hessian
bag soaked in water.
Stage 3: Collecting materials
• break the workshop into small groups to Stage 6 : Discuss suitable plants
forage for materials to build the nursery
• discuss the types of vegetables grown
with—timber/ bamboo for planting
from seed, especially the more delicate
boxes and table, old coconut to scrape
vegetables such as tomato, eggplant and
for growing material, a tin to use as a
Chinese cabbage.
watering can, soft soil.
Stage 7: Review results
Stage 4: Build the nursery
• take hessian off the seed boxes after
• guide the group through the building
three days or, if it goes long enough, at
of the nursery—scrape the old, rotting
the end of the workshop—check how
coconuts into growing material using a
many seeds have germinated.
cassava grater or taiyo (tuna) cans with
holes punched in them—or stiff wire Stage 8: Transplant seedlings
mesh on a wooden frame, see flip chart • transplant the three day old seedlings
graphic: Attachment 5a) into a seedling box with a mixture of
• locate the nursery in open sun with two parts coconut husk to one part soil
some trees on the west side for
• space the seedlings the width of two of
afternoon shade.
the knuckles of your index finger—see
flip chart graphic: Attachment 5c
Stage 5 : Plant the seeds in seed boxes • press the soil firmly then water with a
Mix the coconut husk and the soil growing milo/ milk can with holes punched in
medium before planting. the bottom for a gentle stream of water.

Building a nursery
A nursery is a place where we plant the seeds 5. Plant the seeds into the shredded coconut
of our food plants. husk which has been put into the seed
boxes; the seeds are planted about twice
Building a nursery makes sure you have a
as deep as they are wide.
continuous supply of the more delicate
vegetables throughout the year. With the open air nursery you do not need
shade because the coconut husk will hold
After the seeds start to grow, keep the young water and keep the seeds moist all day
plants in the nursery for a few weeks to look in the sun. The coconut husk holds a lot of
after them, protect them from insect pests water.
and give them enough water. Then, plant
6. Gently water the seeds every day until
them in the garden.
they start to grow—a can with small holes
in the bottom can be used as a watering
Planning the nursery can.
Make the nursery close to the house so we 7. After the seeds start to grow, water them
can visit it every day. A good place is to for three days to a week.
make it between the house and the garden
8. Transplant the seedlings into the seedling
so we walk past it every day.
box. They will grow here for another two
The nursery should be as close to water as to four weeks before transplanting to the
possible. garden.
After two weeks you can sprinkle some
Setting up our nursery poultry manure mixed with sawdust
1. Choose a suitable place to build the between the rows of seedlings. This will
nursery where there is no shade from the boost their growth.
morning sun. It is useful to gently cultivate and aerate
2. Make planting boxes of wood to plant the soil in the seedling boxes. Do this
the seeds in; after the plants start to grow with a small stick between the rows of
in the seed boxes they are transplanted seedlings.
into seedling boxes and, when they have 9. Now transplant seedlings into the garden,
grown, into the garden; you might like to water the plants regularly while they are
build a table to put the planting boxes young; use branches to shade them from
on so they are at a comfortable working the sun.
height. Seedling boxes should have space 10. Remove the branches after three days.
under the box to allow for drainage of
water.
Breaking open a rotting coconut
3. When the seedling boxes are ready,
to scrape for growing mix
prepare some material to plant the seeds
into; to make this material collect old,
rotting coconuts from the ground or from
a coconut plantation; scratch these on a
stiff wire frame to shred them.
4. Put the shredded coconut husk into the
seed boxes and level flat.
Note: sterilise the soil with boiling water
poured into the seed box before planting
seed; leave to cool before sowing seed;
this is important to prevent fungal disease.

Starting a nursery for family food production

Starting a nursery in which to grow our
seedlings ensures the family a year-round Planting seeds into seed box
supply if nutritious vegetables. Planting seeds into the seed boxes. The seeds
are planted at a depth twice their width.
If we include vegetable foods—leafy
greens such as Chinese cabbage, slippery
cabbage, shallots and others such as
tomatoes—in meals with fish, rice, kumera,
yam or taro, our family will remain healthy
and strong.
Planting mix
Old coconuts are picked up from the ground
and the husks shredded to make planting
material for our seeds.
Transplant seedlings into

seedling box
Transplant germinated seed into the seedling
box. The right distance apart to plant our
seedlings is as wide as the distance between
two knuckles.

Making a seed tray from
bamboo. The bamboo on
the bottom of the tray has
been cut into strips.
Seed trays can also be
made from wooden
planks.
Seed trays can be made
separately—as in this
picture— or as one long
tray divided into smaller
trays.
Tony Jansen demonstrates

how to use stiff wire mesh
on a wooden frame to
scrape rotting coconut
husk to mix with soil for the
nursery.
Rotting coconut can
be collected from a
plantation.
Filling the seed trays with

growing mix made from
scraped coconut. The
trays are filled almost to
the top.
The picture shows one
long tray divided into
smaller trays.

Participants in a training
workshop plant seeds
into seed boxes filled with
scraped coconut husk.
Joini Tutua shows visitors to

his Honiara organic farm
how seedlings grow in
planting boxes in an open
air nursery.
Joini and his family start
most of the vegetables
grown at their Zai and Tina
Organic Farm in seedling
boxes.
When the seedlings in

the nursery have grown
big enough, they can
be transplanted into the
garden.
In this garden, small
branches cut from a
Gliricidia tree have
been used to shade the
seedlings from the heat of
the sun. The branches are
removed after three days.

9. Using legumes
Outcomes -they do this through a special
relationship with nitrogen-fixing
nodules that look like small lumps
be able to:
- the lumps are nodules that contain
• describe the importance of the legumes
tiny bacteria that turn the nitrogen
• demonstrate the use of legumes in the
into plant nutrient
garden.
- the bacteria that live in the nodules
are so small they cannot be seen
Key messages - the bacteria supplies nutrients to the
• legumes fix nitrogen in the soil plant and receive sugars they need to
• legumes benefit other plants live from the plant in return.
• we should include plenty of legumes in • demonstrate that when the nodules are
our garden broken they should be red or pink; this
• there are many ways to use legumes to shows that nitrogen fixation is at work.
fertilise our garden.
...demonstrate
• how to interplant legumes and
Approach vegetables (eg alley crop), to benefit
plants.
...discuss
• nitrogen is an element that plants need
to grow; we can think of nitrogen as Materials
being like protein for plants; • fresh legumes pulled from the ground
• nitrogen occurs naturally in the air and is showing nodules
found in pockets of air in the soil • pictures of cropping systems using
• legumes put the nitrogen from the soil legumes—see Attachment 6a alley
air into plants cropping with Gliricidia.
A child with an arm full of winged

beans, a legume grown in the Pacific
and Asian tropics.
Legumes can feed people as well
as the soil and are one of the ‘body
building’ or protein foods we need to
keep us healthy.
After the beans have been picked
for food, the leaves and stems of
the bean plant can be used in the
garden as mulch.

Procedure
minutes.
1. Collect and pass around legumes on

which nodules are visible or draw a
diagram illustrating the nodules on
the roots—describe how legumes
fix nitrogen and make it available to
plants; explain that the nodules work in
partnership with the legume plant but
All legumes have pods. Some grow as twining
they are actually a separate lifeform vines, like the winged bean (above). Others grow
- pass the plant with the nodules as shrubs or as trees, like the Gliricidia (below)
planted in an alley cropping system.
around ensuring that all participants
examine it and can identify the
nodules.
2. Describe how to identify legumes
by pod and leaf shape; explain that
legumes produce seed in pods.
3. Use role play to describe alley
cropping (a method of planting alleys
of crops between lines of legumes; the
leaves of the legumes are slashed and
used to mulch the crop alleys).
4. Break into groups to develop ideas on
how participants could include legumes
in their gardens; the groups present
their findings to the workshop.
5. Describe different cropping systems

that make use of legumes.
- green manures: used as soil
improvers such as velvet beans and
cowpeas
- crop rotation with legumes helps
improve the soil
- Gliricidia used to shade plantations of
cocoa and coffee
- soy beans and mung beans grown
for their seed, plants such as winged
bean and long beans are grown for
their pod.
Teaching notes
Use drama or role play to reinforce the
information about how nitrogen fixation
Mung beans grow as a small shrub. Here they are
and legumes work and their importance in seen growing at the Planting Material Network
the garden. garden at Burns Creek, Honiara, in the Solomons.

Identifying and using legumes

How do legumes fix nitrogen?
In the air spaces between the soil particles
you will find nitrogen.
Small bacteria that live on the roots of
legumes take the nitrogen from the soil air
and turn it into proteins in the plant.
These bacteria form nodules on the roots.
Identifying legumes
Legumes can have their leaves in groups of
three, such as beans.
Gliricidia has a different type of leaf
pattern.
All legumes have a fruit which is called a
pod.
Legumes also have white, pink or brown
nodules on their roots. In these root nodules
nitrogen is taken in by the bacteria and
turned into plant protein.

Different cropping systems
• alley cropping, a method of planting Crop rotation

alleys of crops between lines of legumes; Crop rotation avoids depleting the soil of
the leaves of the legumes are slashed nutrients.
and used to mulch the crop alleys
• crop rotation with legumes helps improve
the soil
• green manures: used as soil improvers,
such as velvet beans and cowpeas Beans Corn
• Gliricidia used to shade plantations of
cocoa and coffee
• soy beans and mung beans grown for
their seed, plants such as winged bean
and long beans are grown for their pod. Kumera Cabbage
Shallots
Alley cropping
with Gliricidia
Gliricidia can be grown in
rows with crops planted
between the rows.
Gliricidia trees can
then be slashed and
the leaves used on the
garden as mulch. The
trees will grow again.

10. Safe management of garden pests

A three staged approach During the workshops and the field visits,
appoint someone to take notes so a report
There are three stages to introducing safe
can be produced later and a copy given to
insect pest management to village farming
the participating village communities.
communities:
1. Identify the insect pests occurring in
the farmer’s gardens. Flip chart graphics
2. Identify existing pest management See Attachment 7 for discussion graphics
methods used by farmers, including that can be used in this section.
new methods used by innovative 7. Safe pest management
farmers.
a) Insect life cycle
3. Make botanical sprays and using
b) Identifying insects in the garden
other methods of pest management:
c) Plants used to make botanical sprays
share the farmer’s knowledge and teach
for pest management
farmers how to make natural sprays and
d) Using botanic sprays
how to hand-remove pests to manage
the number of insects. e) Benefits of botanic sprays
f) Crop rotation.
These stages can be the focus of a series of
workshops with farming communities.
Further workshops
The workshops involve: This workshop is an introduction into
• meetings where discussion takes safe pest management and some simple,
place and where methods of insect effective techniques to be used to manage
pest management are described and pests.
demonstrated
Further pest management workshops can
• visits to farmer’s gardens to identify be arranged and more detailed information
insect pests and to see pest management can be found in the Integrated Pest
techniques in use. Management manual in this training series.
Chillies can be grown in the sup-sup

garden and made into a botanical
spray to deter insect pests

Stage 1 : Approach
Identify insect pests ...discuss
• what is a garden pest (brainstorm)
Outcomes • what is safe pest management
By the end of this session, participants will • ask the group about the types of insects
be able to: that are pests in their gardens. Ask for:
• explain the importance of safe pest
- the names of the insects
management in the garden.
- what plants they eat
- what part of the plant they attack
Key messages (leaf, stem, roots)
• pest management is important to the - what times of the year they are found
control of insect and other pests and - what they look like (ask participants
plant diseases to draw a picture of the insect on
• look at the whole garden system the board or on flip chart paper or
including soils and plants to draw a picture on the ground; ask
• some insects found in the garden are them to show how long the insect is).
beneficial.
...practice
If appropriate go to the garden to identify
pests before discussion on safe pest
management and insect identification:
• walk through a garden to collect insect
specimens
• break into small groups to discuss the
insects and the plants they eat; groups
report back to workshop what they
know.
Identify insects in the garden:

Walk a transect through the garden to
collect and identify insects
Workshop participants search

for insects in the garden

Stage 2: Approach
Identify existing pest ...discuss
Using the names of the insect pests
management methods
identified in Stage 1, ask participants:
Outcomes • what management methods they now
By the end of this session, participants will use for these insects; these might include
be able to: hand removal (picking the insects off
• list traditional approaches to insect pest
plants), natural sprays (these are also
management. called botanical sprays because they are
made from the parts of plants)
• how effective they judge the different
Key messages methods to be
• pest management is important to the
• whether farmers already make and
control of insect and other pests and
use botanical sprays, ask them to
plant diseases
demonstrate how they are made and
• look at the whole garden system used; it will be necessary to gather
including soils and plants together the ingredients to make the
• some insects found in the garden are sprays.
beneficial.
A two-column table is a useful graphic
means to record this information.
• draw a two-column table on the ground,
flip chart page or blackboard
• on the horizontal axis write the heading
‘insect pests’
• on the vertical axis write the heading
‘management method’
• against the names of the insect pests
write the management methods found to
be most effective.
Materials
...for discussion
• flip chart paper for listing farmers pest
management techniques
• marker pens and paper for small group
work.

Stage 3: Approach
Make botanical sprays and ...discuss
• explain why you would use botanical
use other methods of pest sprays as a pest management strategy
management • explain any safety precautions necessary
The purpose of this workshop is to share for preparing and handling botanical
the management methods identified in sprays (such as avoiding contact with
Stage 2. the eyes when preparing and using chilli
spray)
Outcomes • talk about the sprays participants have
By the end of this session, participants will used.

be able to: ...practice
• demonstrate how to make botanical • have knowledgable farmers demonstrate
sprays from plants (botanical sprays are the production of different botanical
insecticides made from plants such as sprays
chilli and tobacco). • produce botanical spray/s that you can
treat pests with in the garden at that time
Key messages
• go into the garden and demonstrate how
• botanical sprays made from natural
the sprays are applied safely and any
ingredients such as plants are safer than
other methods that could be used.
chemical sprays and preparations
• the use of natural sprays comes after you During this workshop, the trainer may
have tried other methods such as hand introduce pest management methods
picking. unknown to the farmers.
Materials
• flip chart paper/ blackboard
• plants from which botanic sprays are
made
• containers for mixing sprays.

Safe pest management

Insect life cycle
Insects take a variety of forms from
egg to adult. Larvae
Insect eggs on leaf

Larvae pupates
Adult lays eggs
Adult
Identifying insects in the garden Pest management technique:

Walk a transect through the garden to collect botanical sprays
and identify insects Plants used to make botanical sprays for pest
management:
Tobacco Ginger Chilli Marigold

Making botanical sprays Benefits of botanic sprays

Use botanic sprays carefully and only when
insect pests are in large numbers.
The careful use of botanic sprays reduces
insect pest damage and leaves more food
Chilli Soap and water
plants for you.
Using botanic sprays

Take care when using botanical sprays. Do not
breath the spray if possible and do not spray it Crop that was Crop that was NOT
on yourself. Wash your hands when you have sprayed sprayed
finished spraying.
Spraying pest:
Other pest management
techniques
Crop rotation
Planting different crops in the garden, one
after the other, breaks the life cycle of insect
pests that might live in the soil.
Crop rotation avoids depleting the soil of
nutrients.
Wash your hands when

you are finished spraying: Beans Corn
Kumera Cabbage
Shallots

11. Keeping chickens

This section has been produced by Russell will produce valuable food items like eggs
Parker from Armidale, Australia. Russell and chicken meat. The kokorako will also
offers a consultancy service to Pacific Island provide manure and compost for the food
and Australian communities through Kai garden. As the farm grows, surplus eggs
Kokorako. and kokorako can also be sold to raise
much-needed cash.
Russell writes: “Kai Kokorako was
developed as a slogan to encourage people
to ‘eat chicken’ and the name Perma-Poultry Outcome
was linked with it because my concepts By the end of this session, participants will
are closely tied to permaculture and village be able to describe:
food gardens. • how to feed chickens
Personally, I have been obsessed with both • how to breed chickens
the Pacific Islands and poultry keeping • different types of chicken houses
all my life. These two passions existed in • how to care for and manage chickens.
parallel for about thirty years until I became
involved in village poultry keeping in the Key messages
Solomon Islands. • chickens can supplement the family food
I consider myself very fortunate to now be supply and contribute to a nutritionally
able to indulge both my lifelong passions in balanced diet
the one place.” • chickens can be kept successfully by
villagers if they provide a few simple
necessities and manage the chickens
Improving family diet • excess chickens and eggs can be sold or
through chicken farming traded
Keeping chickens is a much-neglected part • there are four main points to successful
of life in island villages but it has great chicken keeping in the village—
potential to help improve village lifestyles. feeding, breeding, housing, care and
management.
Even though chickens, or kokorako as
they are known in the Solomon Islands,
have been known to islanders since their Approach
ancestors paddled their canoes from
mainland Asia thousands of years ago, ...discuss
in most villages the kokorako are left • explain the four main points of chicken-
to wander freely and are not cared for keeping—feeding, breeding, housing,
properly. They search for food where ever care and management.
it can be found and they are also at the
mercy of both the weather and predators ...demonstrate
like cats, dogs and hawks. • foods that chickens eat
• building a simple chicken house.
With a small amount of effort and
inexpensive inputs most villages can
establish a small kokorako farm which

Materials Break into small groups and discuss:
• examples of chicken food • how to feed chickens—what do
participants feed to chickens
• flip chart graphic in Attachment 8
• show examples of chicken food
8. Keeping chickens
a) the needs and functions of chickens Discuss:
b) the mobile chicken house • how to breed chickens—participants
c) moving the mobile chicken house encouraged to share experiences
d) feeding and caring for chickens. Visit:
• sticks, poles, wire or netting for making • different types of chicken houses to see
a chicken house. what works and how to build them
• show examples of building materials
Procedure Break into small groups and discuss:
• how to care for and manage chickens—
explains the objectives of the session—
participants describe how they keep
5–10 minutes.
their chickens safe and healthy.
A permanent chicken
house raised above the
ground as protection from
predators
A mobile pen made with

timber and bamboo

Chicken keeping survey

Village trainers can collect baseline data with participants for their village
group that wishes to improve their kokorako keeping.
Ask the following questions:
Number of chickens
1. How many chickens are in the village now?
2. How many hens, how many roosters are there?
NOTE: only one young rooster is needed for ten hens—
there are usually too many roosters competing for the hens
3. Are there already enough chickens to start a small chicken farm?
Type of chicken
1. Are they village chickens or imported?
2. Are they old or young fowls?
3. Do you think your adult fowls are too old to produce eggs?
Chickens
1. How many hens have chickens?
2. How many chickens does each hen have?
NOTE: there will most likely only be one or two survivors from a batch
Eggs
1. Do you know of any nest where a hen is sitting on some eggs?
2. How many eggs does she have?
3. Is it easy for you to find eggs that your hens have laid?
NOTE: it is easier inside a proper chicken house
4. how many eggs does a village hen usually lay?
NOTE: this can be improved with better feeding
5. How long does it take for those eggs to hatch into chickens?
6. When a hen hatches chickens how many does she hatch at first?
7. How many chickens survive to grow up?
8. Do you know why only one or two chickens survive?
Feeding
1. Do you notice when some chickens are really sick?
2. Does someone give proper food to your village chickens?
3. Does the hen with the new chickens get special food for her babies to eat?
Village chickens
1. Do you notice if cats, dogs, hawks or snakes kill your chickens?
2. Does every family keep chickens?
3. Do they produce enough eggs and meat for the whole village?
4. Does your village keep both village and imported chickens?
5. What colours are these chickens?
NOTE: this usually indicates whether they are imported or local.

Keeping chickens
Chickens have a number of uses in the
garden. They provide:
• food
- eggs
- meat
• garden functions Chickens Chicken Chickens
- clean up garden of old plant material need: functions: provide:
- fertilise garden with their droppings food clean up eggs
shelter gardens meat
- eat some insect pests
water fertilise
- loosen the soil in the garden; we can
gardens
plant seedlings in the soil protection
- when the chickens are kept in a from predators eat insect
pests
permanent house, their houses can be health care
cleaned out and the old grass put on place to lay
the garden to help our crops grow. eggs
Improving chicken keeping

There are four main points to improved • the feed should be provided in three
chicken keeping in the village: groups:
1. Feeding a) body-building foods—protein
2. Breeding b) energy foods
3. Housing c) protective foods
4. Care and management so the kokorako can choose their own
needs
1. Feeding NOTE: it is very important that at least

one item from each of the three groups is
The feeding program is designed to be as provided every day.
simple as possible so that it can be continued
and not fail.
a) Body-building foods—protein
• villagers should be encouraged to think The chicken’s protein needs can be taken
of the kokorako as an extension of their from:
family; when a meal is prepared for the
family the kokorako feeding should be • fishing waste when available
done as well • earthworms
• kokorako should be fed a small, balanced • insects
diet everyday • beans
• imported processed commercial feeds • peas and
are too expensive for most village farmers
• peanuts.
and locally grown grain of any sort is not
plentiful in many island villages. Worms and insects are found by kokorako
when they are allowed to wander freely
• the diet for poultry is therefore closely
each afternoon. Beans and peas of different
linked to existing village food gardens
varieties can be grown easily in food
and based on common, locally available
gardens.
produce

b) Energy Foods Feeding baby chickens

The most commonly available will be:
The first two or three weeks
• fruits and vegetables including sugarcane
The diet for chickens in the first two or three
• coconut: both fresh and dried (copra) weeks of life should include boiled eggs—
can form the major basis of the food as it either hen, turtle, megapode or other bird—
is readily available on most islands. Care depending upon availability.
should be taken that the copra is of good
quality otherwise it can be toxic and will The other food should be the same as for
kill your kokorako fully-grown kokorako. All food provided in the
chicken’s diet should be finely chopped so it is
• yam + potatoes: potatoes, yams, taro and
easier for them to eat.
cassava should be boiled for better use as
a kokorako feed You can start to feed small grain like corn, rice,
sorghum and sunflower as soon as you can
• grain and seed: corn or maize, sunflower
as this will help the chickens stay healthy and
seeds and sorghum are good grains for
fight off disease.
chickens if they are available
• grasses, leaves, insects: poultry will be For all kokorako it is better to feed whole grains
allowed to free range after the middle of rather than crushing them which destroys the
the day so they will have access to leaves food value of the grain.
and grasses as well as the insects
• rice: when available, or grated Special care in the first 6 weeks
coconut can be fed as an evening As it is too expensive and difficult to obtain
encouragement for the kokorako to return special medicines which the baby chickens
to their house. need, you have to take special care with their
feed. You should include lower-energy foods,
which are high in fibre, for the 0 to 6-week
c) Protective Foods— chicken age group to help the chickens fight
greenfood and minerals common poultry diseases like coccidi.
• calcium: most villages have access to
Fruit such as pawpaw, banana and melon are
seashell which can be burnt and crushed
good low-energy foods for baby chickens.
to provide calcium and grit for the poultry
• crushed animal bones provide calcium
and phosphorous
• salt: salt is available from seaside pools or
seaweed
• grit: gravel and sand should be made
available to kokorako so they can use it to
help digest their food
• greenfood: greenfood is provided to
the pens in the form of green leafy
vegetables, cut grass and access to grass
yards in the afternoon
• Leucaena branches are good greenfood
and can be hung in the kokorako pens for
the kokorako to eat
• paw paw, chilli and Japanese cabbage.

2. Breeding
Management is necessary to make sure the Semi-feral chickens
best results are gained from existing village With their tight feathering and more active
kokorako. This is based on building up the nature semi-feral chickens appear to be more
numbers and quality of the local poultry successful breeders than many soft feather
quickly through: fowls and usually continue to breed to a
greater age.
1. Selective breeding
2. Correct feeding
Interbreeding
3. Captivity in simple houses made from
In the long term, interbreeding with village
local materials.
fowls will ensure that the kokorako will change
to the natural colours of the jungle fowl
1. Selective breeding and therefore provide some camouflage,
Every effort should be made to obtain young especially for nesting females. The natural
male breeders from areas where there is a brown striped colouring of the chickens
possibility of jungle fowl (also called Mendana from the moment of hatching also provides
or Santa Cruz chicken) existing in the rooster’s camouflage and protection from predators.
breeding background.
If possible, always try to use younger breeding
In the past, the various importations of birds
kokorako have resulted in village fowls
carrying a good mixture of both laying and
2. Feeding
local strains in their bloodlines.
Correct housing and feeding develops good
breeding chickens. If the project owners lose
Characteristics to look for interest, the improved fowl, with some feral
If you select surviving village birds to use bloodline included, should still cope well if
in the breeding program the following they return to free range.
characteristics may be found in the new
chickens: Not only is the present village fowl a very
active forager by necessity, it also shows
• more active forager and hardier birds great interest in any food scraps thrown to it.
• more aggressive and not such easy prey Therefore it will adapt well to the proposed
for predators such as cats, dogs and free choice feeding system of locally based
snakes produce.
• the ability to fly well and roost higher at
night than other introduced birds 3. Simple houses made from
• smaller so therefore a better converter of local material
feed to eggs See next page.
• females from the improved breeding line
will make very good broody hens and very
protective mothers.

3. Housing
Use bush materials Chicken houses

Kokorako should have a separate house There are two types of chicken house:
made of bush materials. The materials are • mobile houses—small houses that are
available in most villages and the people moved around the garden; these house
already have the skills to use these materials. up to four chickens
For good kokorako houses you need: • permanent houses—these are larger and
stay in the one place in the garden; they
• weather proofing, with a strong leaf roof
house more chickens than mobile houses.
• strong stick or bamboo walls to keep out
pigs, dogs and cats Using mobile houses
• windows to let air come inside The mobile house can be moved by two
• drains around the outside with the floor people.
inside raised to keep out water. To use a mobile house to help prepare your
sup sup garden for planting:
Chicken houses for breeding
1. Place the mobile house on a garden bed
To be able to keep lots of kokorako
from which the vegetables have been
successfully you will need the following:
picked.
• a main breeding house of a size to suit the
2. Wait until the chickens have eaten the
number of kokorako you wish to keep
remaining plant material and have
- parts of this main house need to be scratched up the soil; their droppings will
divided into separate rooms with: have fertilised the soil.
nests for hens that are hatching eggs 3. Move the mobile house to the next area
when the chickens have hatched of the garden to be prepared.
you need a room for each hen and 4. Plant seeds or seedlings into the garden
chickens that the chickens have scratched up.
• once the chickens have grown good
feathers they need to be separated from Chickens sleeping on the roost
their mother and then kept in a small inside the chicken house
grower room
• later, you will divide the growers into male
and female so they can be fed separately
and properly for meat or eggs.
For one kokorako project you will need:

• one big house with four or five separate
rooms
• nests for layers and sitting mother hens
which can be constructed of bush materials.
Roost
Chickens naturally like to perch as high
as possible to keep away from predators,
especially at night.
You should erect the roosting pole inside the
kokorako house at the back and as close to
the roof as possible but still leaving enough
room for the chickens to stand.

Using a permanent chicken house

The permanent chicken house is not moved
around the garden.
The house:
• must be made large enough for the
number of chickens you will keep
• must be strong enough to keep out
predators such as dogs
• has lying boxes in which the chickens lay
eggs
• has perches above the ground where the
birds sleep.
Some chicken houses are raised above the
ground to keep dogs out.
Mobile chicken house showing Spread grass on the ground

nesting box where eggs are laid
Cut some long grass and spread a thick layer
of it on the ground inside the permanent
chicken house.
The grass will break down inside the chicken
house. More grass is added every week. The
old grass is cleaned out every week and put
on the garden.
Sawdust can also be used on the ground in
the permanent chicken house.
Materials for building the

chicken house
Use strong materials to build your chicken
house so dogs do not break in and eat the
chickens.
Poultry wire is good but it is expensive.
Instead, use bamboo, planks of wood and
strong bush poles.
Moving mobile chicken
house around the garden Make your mobile chicken house strong but
light weight because it has to be moved
around the garden.
A small permanent
chicken house reinforced
against dogs with wooden
planks

4. Care and management

When you provide good feeding, breeding Provide good drainage
and housing for your kokorako you are Many island villages are located close to
also already working on good care and lagoons or beaches so good drainage for the
management. However there are a few other kokorako houses and fenced areas should be
things you need to do. possible through the sandy soil.
Drains should be dug around the houses to
Protect your chickens
stop flooding and floors should be made from
Rat control: rats will be a major problem gravel material to help drainage and drying
because of the lush undergrowth in most island out.
areas; the only solutions to this problem will be
the removal of all rubbish and bush near the
pens and the use of poultry-friendly dogs and
Don’t overcrowd chickens
cats to catch the rats. Attention should be paid to the size of the
houses and yards or fenced areas to ensure
Do not over feed the poultry and remove there is no overcrowding and the ground
uneaten food at the end of the day so rats around these facilities does not become stale
won’t be encouraged to visit at night. and unhealthy.
Hawks and snakes: these will also be a Always try to avoid overcrowding in
problem but the people will usually be made the houses which can cause illness and
aware of such predators by the noise of the cannibalism.
kokorako.
Dogs: protect your chickens from predators Clean floor regularly
such as dogs that can . The floor of the houses should be cleaned
Villagers will need to ensure that there is regularly and the manure and other material
always someone left in charge when the placed on the compost heap for later use on
majority of the population is away working in the gardens.
the gardens.
Let your chickens out
Natural bush medicine By allowing free range after midday to most
Disease control by imported medications and kokorako they should remain healthy by
vaccines is cost-prohibitive for most villagers allowing them to find more food.
so greater emphasis should be placed on It is very important to learn that correct
hygiene and the proper care and feeding of feeding is a major part of the good health of
the kokorako. your kokorako.
Natural bush medicines presently used
by people should also be investigated for
applications to kokorako health. As the
breeding development proposal is extended
over wider areas the investigation of the
applications of these bush medicines will
become an important part of the concept.

Everyday activities
There are a number of everyday activities Put
for improving your kokorakos care and grass or
management sawdust
each
week
Early morning:
• give the kokorako their food for the day
• make sure they have fresh drinking water
• check kokorako nests for eggs
Mid afternoon:
• collect all the eggs
Give
• allow the kokorako to run out free in their Fill water
coconut
each day
grassed yard or fenced garden area
Give leaves Give
• provide fresh greenfood to those kokorako each day pawpaw
which can’t be let run free in yards. and kitchen
scraps
Evening: Feeding your chickens
• make sure all kokorako have drinking water Store food for your chickens is expensive.
• shut all kokorako safely in their houses for Instead of store food,
the night
Feed your chickens on plant material grown in
• collect any late eggs from the nests so rats the garden:
don’t steal them during the night • pawpaw
• make sure there is no food left in the houses • coconut—break coconut open
which will encourage rats to come at night
• leaves from vegetables.
• watch for any broody hens which want to
Food scraps from the kitchen can be fed to
sleep on their nest instead of the perch or
the chickens.
roost.
Place a large container of water inside the
chicken house and fill up daily. Keep the
Night time:
water in the container clean.
• this is the best time to catch any kokorako
you want to move to another house or if Use a smaller container for water in the mobile
you want to move a broody hen to her nest house.
of eggs that you have ready.
Other considerations
• at different times every day you should
check that your kokorako are healthy and
happy
• make sure the kokorako are not sick or
fighting
• it will help to tame the kokorako if you offer
small amounts of special food like weeds
from your garden or a sprinkling of cracked
grain each time you visit the kokorako.
• make sure that drinking water is not spilt or
made too dirty by scratching fowls.


It is very important for young children to
eat nutritious food. When they are healthy
Poster graphics
See Attachment 9 for discussion graphics
they do not get sick as much and do not
that can be used in this section.
become slow learners at school.
9. Nutrition and local food:
We must give children the right food at
the right time so they will grow up to be a) How to feed children:
healthy. 1. 0–4 months
2. 4–6 months
It is also important for adults to eat
3. 6-12 months
nutritious food—not too little or too much.
4. 1-2 years
That way we will stay healthy and will be
able to work well. 5. from 2 years up
b) Mixed meal
1. A mixed meal is a healthy meal
A four staged approach 2. Start to make a mixed meal
Introducing nutrition is done in four stages.
3. Add beans, peas or nuts
These make use of a number of posters
4. Use an animal food instead
(see Attachment 9 for posters):
5. Add vegetables to the mixed meal
1. Baby book
6. Use fruit instead of
2. How to feed children - five posters
vegetables and greens
3, Making mixed meals and good
7. Healthy snacks
snacks - seven posters
4. Nutritious meals in the home: carry
out an analysis of food available in
the home; prepare mixed meals and
nutritious snacks.
Maria Zabel, who wrote this unit

in Nutrition and Local Food, with
daughter and husband Peter.
In the late-1990s, Maria (from
Finland) carried out nutritional
education and child health
monitoring at Sasamunga Hospital
on Choiseul, Solomon Islands. Peter
(from Germany) served as hospital
doctor.

Target group: Stage 1:
• mothers attending anti-natal and post- The baby book
natal clinics
• parents at child welfare clinics Discussion:
• parents with underweight children • explain that participants should bring
their children to the child welfare clinic
• women’s groups.
once a month until the child is five years
old
Outcomes: • describe how to read a child growth
Parents will be able to: chart.
• make a mixed meal and good snacks
• feed their small children nutritious food If the child is not active:
• describe why it is important to bring • it may be sick
their children to the child welfare clinic • it might not be getting enough food.
once a month until they are five years of
An inactive child:
age.
• will often be sick and apathetic
• might not have proper brain
Materials: development and will be a slow learner
• the baby book and the child’s health • is in bigger danger of dying before
record reaching the age of five years
• posters about how to feed children • will be weaker and suffer from diseases
• posters about mixed meals and snacks. later.

Stage 2: 2. Feeding at 4 to 6 months
How to feed children Key messages:
• start with a food you can get easily, such
Outcomes as sweet potato (kumera)
• start with one food and give one to two
be able to:
spoonfuls each time, one to two times a
• feed their small children nutritious food. day
• always mash the food you are feeding
Approach the baby
• add small amounts of new foods slowly
...discuss
• try potato, banana, cabbage, pawpaw,
• using poster graphics, discuss the
pumpkin, young coconut; do not give
feeding of small children with the
the baby any hard or strong-tasting
participants
foods
• encourage parents to describe how they
• if the baby does not accept new foods,
feed their children and their experiences
mix it with the foods the baby already
• if there are a lot of participants, divide
eats
them into small discussion groups.
• you can a little breast milk on top of the
food to get the baby to accept it
Materials • always feed the baby with a clean spoon
Poster graphics. from a clean cup.
Note:
• encourage participants to ask questions
• be sympathetic and understanding.
1. Breast feeding
Key messages:
• mother’s milk is a perfect food for
children
• babies should be breast fed 10 to 12
times every 24 hours
• no additional food is necessary, even
when the weather is hot; this is because
the baby’s stomach is not yet developed
enough to take other foods and babies
can get infections from eating other
foods.
Regular weighing of young children

can show up nutritional deficiencies.
Sasamunga Hospital Primary Health
Care Unit, Choiseul, Solomon Islands.

3. Feeding at 6 - 12 months 4. Feeding at 1-2 years
Key messages: Key messages:
• this is an important time because many • at this age the child can eat normal
babies stop growing well at this age family food
• until the child is six months old, breast • too much salt in the food is not good for
milk is the most important food; now the child or adult’s health
the child should eat five times a day; • feed the child five times a day
the young child’s stomach is small and • local foods are always more nutritious
cannot get much food in it so it becomes and are cheaper than store foods
empty in a short time • if your child is underweight feed six
• feeding five times a day does not mean times a day
that you have to cook five times a day; • keep breast feeding until the child is two
you can give a good snack two times a years of age; remember that breast milk
day—try coconut, pawpaw and banana cannot replace the mixed meal or snack
• in the morning you can cook a pot of but it helps the child grow well and stay
potato, cabbage and beans in coconut healthy
milk and serve it to the child two or • remember that children, especially those
three times during the day; before under three years of age, need fat in
serving, always heat it until it bubbles; their diet; in the Pacific islands, coconut
do not heat the same food twice; if food is a good source of fat.
is left over, give it to someone else or
throw it away
• you can now add foods such as fish, 5. Feeding at 2 years of age
beans, egg and coconut milk to the and older
child’s diet
• you can also start to feed the child Key messages:
mashed and cooked nuts (raw nuts can • if your child is underweight feed six
be given when the child is two years times a day; otherwise, feed five times a
old; the child will be able to eat them day with two to three mixed meals and
without choking) two to three snacks
• do not add salt or spices before the • make sure your child eats a good
child is one year old; if you give the breakfast, especially when he or she
same food to the rest of the family, first starts school; give the child a good snack
take the child’s portion out then add the to take to school
spices for the family • if you follow the feeding schedule we
• you do not need to add sugar to any of have talked with you about you should
the foods; sugar could spoil the child’s notice that your children grow well, are
teeth sick less often and eat well and without
• you can clean the child’s first teeth problems
with water and with a brush such as a • it may sound like a lot of work to make
hibiscus stick, at least in the evening sure your children eat well, are healthy
• we will explain later how to make a and do well at school, but you do not
mixed meal and a healthy snack. have to stay up at night and take them
to the clinic all the time.

Stage 3: • explain how you can grow all your good
foods in a garden near the house
Making mixed meals and
• explain how children six months and
good snacks older, as well as adults, need two to
This stage can be covered in two or more three mixed meals and two to three
sessions. snacks a day
• explain that a plateful of rice is not a
Outcomes mixed meal and biscuits are not a good
By the end of this session, participants will snack.
be able to:
• describe the foods that make up a mixed Food for adults
meal To avoid becoming overweight, when
• describe why local foods are better than preparing mixed meals and snack food for
foods bought in the store adults:
• cook a mixed meal. • use less coconut—half a coconut is
enough for a pot
Approach • eat a bit less each time if you eat more
often.
...discuss
• describe how local food is always better
than store food that has been processed, Making meals and snacks
that loses nutrients and might have Trainers: use the next seven posters to
added chemicals; for example, potato is discuss with parents how to make mixed
better than rice; banana is a better snack meals and healthy snacks.
than biscuits
Procedure:
• describe how fresh food is always better
• posters one to six shows how to make a
for the child and parent’s health
mixed meal
• talk about how tinned fish and meat
• poster seven shows how to make a good
have a lot of salt that is not good for the
snack
body
• set up the posters one by one
• explain each poster in this order:
Layout for - posters one and
poster graphics
two in the middle
- posters three
and four on the
left hand side
- posters five and
six on the right
hand side
- place poster
seven to the
side of the
other posters.

Revise 1. A mixed meal is a
Revise the messages from the first set
of posters on feeding babies and young
healthy meal
children:
Key messages:
• children are likely to grow well if they
• to make a mixed meal we need to put at
eat nutritious food
least three different foods on the plate
• good feeding means giving breast milk
• if we give the child only rice, that is not a
until the child is two years old and
mixed meal
providing mixed meals and snacks after
• children under the age of three years need
six months.
fat in their diet; coconut milk is a good
source of fat; food for small children can
Use words people understand
be cooked in coconut milk.
Do not use words that people might have
difficulty understanding such as protein,
energy-rich foods and so on. 2. Start to make a
It may be difficult to find useful local words mixed meal
to explain these terms. We want parents to
understand our message. Key messages:
• start to make a mixed meal by choosing
For each poster use the messages that one of the foods in the poster (potatoes,
follow. taro, cassava, yam, pana, banana, corn,
rice, noodles, biscuits)
• local food is more nutritious and costs less
that food from the store
• rice is one of the last foods to choose;
noodles and biscuits are the very last we
choose
• store foods can be used if you have
nothing else.

Key messages:
• to the foods in poster 2 (attachment 9b2),
add one of the foods from this poster 3
(attachment 9b3) (which is placed on the
left hand side of your poster display)
• if you have your own home vegetable
(sup sup) garden you can grow these
foods year-round
• plant a few beans in your garden every
three weeks; this will provide beans all
the time.
Procedure:
• choose one of the foods from poster 3 on
the left side of your poster display; this
might be beans, peas or nuts.

4. Use an animal food 5. Add vegetables to
instead the mixed meal
Key messages: Key messages:
• instead of beans, peas or nuts you can • if you have selected one of the root
use one of the animal foods such as crops and beans or peas or an animal
eggs, fish or meat food, then you add one of the vegetable
• fresh food is always better than tinned foods or greens
food • children can eat many of the vegetable
• tinned food contains other things like foods raw, such as cucumber or tomato
chemicals and too much salt that are not • when you cook vegetables remember
good for our bodies not to cook them too long or the food
• if you do not have animal food, then will lose all its nutrients.
you can use beans, peas or nuts.
Key messages:
• instead of vegetables or greens you can
choose one or more fruits
• it is good to have fruit growing around
the house so you can pick it easily for a
meal or snack.

Summarise posters 1 to 6
Key messages:
To make a mixed meal you—
• cook potatoes, beans and pumpkin in
coconut milk
or
• cook taro and nuts together and give a
piece of pomelo
or
• cook rice, cabbage and tinned fish
(tinned fish already has oil in it)
or
• cook cassava, fish and cabbage in
coconut oil.
Summarise
Summarise the messages you have covered
in posters 1 to 6. This will help people
remember them.
7. Healthy snacks
Key messages:
• give your child a snack two to three
times a day
• fruit and nuts are good snacks; do not
give nuts to children under the age of
two because they might have difficulty
chewing them
• you can give a coconut, piece of
sugarcane, tomato and other vegetables
• biscuits are expensive and do not have
many good nutrients in them
• lollies, ice cream and sweet drinks have
a lot of sugar and other ingredients that
do not help your child’s body to grow
healthy; they are also expensive.

How to feed children:

1. 0–4 months 3. 6-12 months
• breast feed only • breast feed
- 5 small meals a day:
3 mixed meals and
2 good snacks
2. 4–6 months 4. 1-2 years

• breast feed • 3 mixed meals
• start soft foods: • 2 good snacks
- potato • breast feed
- pumpkin
- coconut
- cabbage
- banana
- pawpaw
5. from 2 years up
• 2-3 mixed meals
• 2-3 good snacks

Mixed meal
Mixed meals make healthy families 5. Add vegetables to the mixed meal
Add:
Vegetables for mixed meals can be grown in
our sup sup garden • greens
• vegetables
add some
root crops or
rice and some
add some vegetables add some
beans, eggs, coconut
fish or meat milk

Add 1 or more fruit:
2. Start to make a mixed meal • pineapple
Start with one of these: • paw paw
• potato • banana
• taro • apple
• cassava • banana
• yam • star fruit
• banana Grow fruit trees
• corn around your house
• rice
• (noodles or biscuits) 7. Healthy snacks
Have 2-3 snacks a day:
• coconut
• sugar cane
• banana
Then add one of these:
• paw paw
• beans
• pomelo
• peas
• nuts
• nuts
• tomato
• pepper
4. Use an animal food instead • pineapple
Add one of these: • corn
• egg
• fish
• seafood
• meat
• milk

Stage 4: 1. Assess food at home
Nutritious meals in the These are the foods that the family has
available in the home now.
home
If the family has a home sup sup garden
Outcomes it may be useful to assess what is growing
By the end of this session, participants will there. Food from the sup sup garden can
be able to: be used to supplement food stored in the
• list foods in the home house in the preparation of mixed meals
and snacks.
• assess whether the foods in the home
can make a mixed meal This information will inform you whether
• describe the preparation of a mixed the family will be able to prepare mixed
meal. meals and good snacks from the food in
the home. It will also help you to revise
Approach information about mixed meals and good
...discuss snacks.
• the benefits of having the right foods to
make a mixed meal Outcomes:
• some foods for a mixed meal can be By the end of this session, participants will
grown in a home sup sup garden or in be able to:
the bush garden • list the foods the family has available in
• the value of good local food (freshness, the home and/or the sup sup garden
nutrition, no additives, low cost) • determine whether they have a sufficient
• short cooking times for vegetables variety of foods to prepare mixed meals
• hygiene in the kitchen and snacks.
• the importance of each family member
having their own plate and cup and
Materials:
• enough copies of the Food in the Home
eating enough food.
worksheet to give each participant to
use at home.
...demonstrate
Using the Food in the Home Worksheet
• how to prepare and cook a mixed meal
Refer to the Food in the Home worksheet.
for the family.
• the left hand box lists legumes, some
...practice vegetables and animal foods.
• complete a food in the home worksheet. • the left-centre box lists root crops and
banana, corn and foods made from grain
Materials (bread, noodles, biscuits)
• Food in the Home worksheet • the right-centre box lists vegetables and
• food and cooking utensils to fruits
demonstrate [preparation of a mixed • the right hand box lists coconut and
meal sugarcane; these are snack foods.
• poster graphic showing mixed meal and
good snack foods.

Procedure:
1. Participants complete the Food in the
Home worksheet.
- ask what foods the participants have
at home now; tick off on the Food in
the Home worksheet
2. Assess the completed worksheets.
- check if the participants have foods
from all three boxes at home; if they
do not, discuss what they could do.
3. Review the information about making a
mixed meal.
- discuss with participants whether they
have the foods in the home to make
a mixed meal; if they do not have
the range of foods, discuss what they
might add.
4. Review information about snack foods.
- go through the snack foods parents
have at home and write them down;
good snacks are foods like fruits
and cucumber that do not need
preparation and are easy to serve; if
there is nothing else, you can give
leftover food from the main meal as
a snack; remind the parents that local
fruits are better for them than biscuits
and other store food.
5. Facilitator gives examples of the types
of foods that can be combined into
mixed meals and good snacks daily.
6. Participants form into small groups.
Facilitator lists the foods available. Each
group writes down an outline of meals
for one day.
7. List foods that could be produced close
to the house, such as vegetables in a
sup sup garden, fruit planted around the
house or eggs from a chicken house.
8. Summarise how to make a mixed meal
by using the three types of food.
Explain that if none of the foods contain
fats, add coconut milk.

FOOD IN THE HOME ANALYSIS

Food analysis of: ...............................................................................
WHAT FOODS DO YOU HAVE IN THE HOME THIS WEEK?

MIXED MEAL GOOD SNACKS
add coconut milk
(especially if the
child is under
3 years)
Give 3 good meals and

2-3 good snacks every day
Give an example of food for one day:

1. Mixed meal—morning ................................. ............................ ................................
1. Good snack—mid-morning ........................
2. Mixed meal—midday .................................. ............................ ................................
2. Good snack—late afternoon .....................
3. Mixed meal—evening ................................. ............................ ................................
(3) Good snack—before sleeping ..................

2. Cooking demonstration Materials
• food and cooking utensils.
Outcome:
be able to:
Procedure
1. Discuss value of healthy food.
• describe the preparation of a mixed 2. Discuss hygiene.
meal. 3. Demonstrate how to make a nutritious
soup.
Key messages:
Ingredients:
• mixed meals and good snacks are best
- sweet potato
for family health
- beans
• local foods are fresher, more nutritious
and cheaper than store food - cabbage, pumpkin or pawpaw
• keep cooking times for vegetables and - cooked eggs
greens short - coconut
• fat in the form of coconut milk is - water.
important for children ...process
• practice hygiene when cooking; keep 1 Take the same amount of potatoes,
cooking and eating utensils clean beans and cabbage, pumpkin or
• eat enough food pawpaw.
• many of the vegetables that go into the 2 Cut them into small pieces.
meal can be grown near the house in a 3 Cook the vegetables in coconut milk
sup sup garden. - start by cooking the potatoes
- greens and pawpaw need only a
Approach short time to cook.
...discuss 4 You can add cooked, mashed eggs at
• the value of good healthy local food the end of the cooking.
(freshness, nutrition, no additives, low 5 Do not make the soup too watery
cost) because it will be low in nutrients and
• hygiene in the kitchen. energy; make it thick.
Children should eat the solid bits first.

...demonstrate
• cook a pot of nutritious soup
or
• get some five corner (carambole),
pawpaw, pineapple, bananas, cooked
corn or other foods to share at the
workshop.
If you have no time to demonstrate cooking

at the workshop, cook earlier by yourself or
ask some of the parents to help you.
Bring the prepared food to the workshop

and have examples of the ingredients you
used displayed on the table.

13. Community food security assessment

Outcomes
Approach
be able to describe: ...discuss
• changes taking place in the village food • set up a discussion to identify the trends
production system affecting the village’s food supply; these
• issues affecting food production might include the declining availability
• the security of the village food supply of farming land, the expansion of cash
at the present time and into the near crops into areas used for subsistence
future. gardening, declining soil fertility, rapid
expansion of the village population, the
increasing consumption of store food
Key messages • encourage participants to make
Explain: deductions about the future of their food
• that the workshops will identify what supply from the information gathered
changes are taking place to the village about changes that have occurred,
food supply current trends in food production and
• how changes to population numbers can the main issues facing food production
affect the availability of land for farming
...practice
and the amount of food that can be
Select the techniques most relevant to your
grown
circumstances.
• how soil improvement can increase soil
• use matrices or other techniques to
fertility
gather information about how farming
• how reducing the number of insect
and the amount of land available for
pests that eat our crops can increase the
farming changed over time
amount of food available
• if it will provide useful information,
• explain how cash cropping, such as use transects to identify how land is
plantation crops, can affect how much used in the village surroundings or in
land is available for farming bush gardens; use information gathered
• villagers can influence the effect these during the transects to make sketch
changes have on their food production. maps showing land use
• make a written record of
the sessions and produce a
written report for use by the
project team and villagers.
A mapping exercise in the sand
Materials
• found objects such as
coconut shells, clams, small
sticks and shells to use as
markers in the matrices
• flip chart paper and marker
pens to record information.

Information is important
Reliable, cross-checked information is critical Assessment provides
to assessing village food security. Cross-
checking can be done by:
information for training
Information discovered during the community
• asking for the same information from food security assessment provides the basis for
different people at different times the planning of future training activity.
• observation in the field
The information might show:
• talking to people with knowledge of food
• the overall health of a community and any
production and community health, such
nutritional deficiencies
as nurses and clinic staff.
• the farming cycle—planting and
To build up a picture of how the availability of
harvesting times, periods when the
food has changed over time and led to the
demand on the villager’s time is high or
present situation, we collect three types of
low
information:
• the role in the village food economy
1 historic information—how food production
of fishing, hunting and the keeping of
has changed over time; this information
domestic animals such as chickens and
identifies significant events and
pigs
trends affecting food production and
agricultural landuse • whether there is a ‘hungry period’ when
food is in short supply, causing a drain on
2 the present situation—
family funds for the purchase of food
- what food crops are most important to
• the most important crops
village families?
• what crops are grown, their varieties and
- what is the trend today in food
what crops are sold to generate income
production— increasing? decreasing?
stable? • the condition of farm soils
- how reliant is the village on imported, • where villagers obtain seed and
store-bought food? vegetatively reproduced planting material
such as cuttings and root divisions
- what is the condition of the village’s
farming soils? • changes to cropping patterns and crop
availability over time
- what crops are being grown?
• shifting cultivation patterns and the length
- what new crops have become
of fallow periods
popular and why?
• any issues with concerning access to land.
- is there a reliable source of vegetative
planting material (cuttings and tubers)
and seeds?
- what is the extent of insect pest
damage and plant disease?
- what are the most important insect
pests and diseases?
- how is food stored after harvest and
how effective is this?
- are there nutrition-related health
disorders?
3 issues—what are the most important
issues facing food production? What can
be done about them?.

Information collection techniques
The techniques we use to collect information comes from the Participatory Rural
Appraisal (PRA) approach.
PRA offers techniques that:

• are participatory—that involve the workshop participants who do the actual work of
information collection
• give to participants a measure of control over what information is collected
• are applicable to participants with low literacy skills
• are simple—they require little by way of equipment and are simple to carry out.
The techniques consist of:
• mapping and modelling—drawing a map on the soil, flip chart or blackboard or making a
model in the soil of the countryside surrounding a village; this makes a picture of landuse
surrounding a village
• matrix—a row of columns and rows drawn in the sand or soil, on flip chart paper or a
blackboard and filled with information; we use matrices to collect different types of
information such as history of food production, importance of food crops, planting and
harvesting calendars

Information collection techniques (cont.)
• tables—a number of columns in which
information with some characteristic in
common is written
• mind map—a diagram showing
ideas, presented in graphical form,
brainstormed around a theme; the
brainstorm ideas are written down without
analysis or discussion; analysis follows, links
between ideas may be made in the mind
map
• transect—groups walk a predetermined
path over the land to identify and note
what the land is being used for or to
gather relevant information, such as soil
condition or the incidence of insect pests
in fields
• discussion—groups discussion is
important to determine the relevance of
information and to agree on issues facing
food production; private discussion
may be used for the same purpose
and to cross-check information already
collected.
For use in discussion, hand drawn graphics
The facilitator: present information in a simple way.
• familiarises participants with the process This graphic shows what food plants are
• assists participants identify relevant grown inside and close to the village as
well as the bush garden.
information.
If need be, information may later be verified
through facilitator or group observation in the
field or by other processes.
Developing a crop
importance matrix,
Solomon Islands.
The matrix shows the

most important crops to
the villagers and what
crops are grown for sale
at the local market.

BEFORE WAR
Population Fewer people.
Soil fertility
Crops Small gardens, more land, big bush. edu, taro, yam, pana–main foods. Ngali nut.
AFTER WAR
Population More people.
Soil fertility
Crops Coconut cropping introduced. Cassava, corn introduced.
NOW
Population Staka tumus (too many people).
Soil fertility Not enough land - soil not fertile.
Crops Pana, yam , edu, taro, kumera,

cassava, kakana, cabbage.
Residents of Takwa village drew up this table to track changes in population,

soil fertility and crops since the Second World War.
COMMUNITY FOOD
SECURITY ASSESSMENT
Identify the trend in food production
in the recent past
Identify the existing situation regarding food

availability and food production in the village
Make decisions about the security of the

village food supply in the future
Use the information collected to identify

priority areas on which to focus the
training program
Design and implement training in selected

areas (refer to Planning the Training
Program page 13)

Procedure: Process:
• draw a matrix on the ground or on
1. Collecting information paper
The first task of our three stage process is
• across the top of the matrix, on the
to collect historic information that will tell
horizontal axis, break the period being
us about changes in the past leading to the
examined into relevant shorter periods
situation we find today.
such as years
• on the vertical axis a list of events
Trend analysis
affecting food production is listed,
This matrix:
such as weather events like drought,
• tracks changes to a resource or a and cyclone; conflict, war and refugee
community over time and identifies the inflow; cash cropping and so on
trend taken by the resource—such as
• ask participants to start at the earliest
declining, increasing or stable
period for which information is being
• is useful for identifying trends affecting collected and to list information relevant
crops grown, food available and village to all the categories listed on the vertical
population changes. axis
This process can be led by the project • when the matrix is finished, the
facilitator or by a villager trained in what to facilitator uses questioning to summarise
do. the information, identifying the main
influences on village farming, which of
them are still having an effect, the main
trends in farming over time and whether
food production is declining, stable or
increasing.
The historic data matrix has identified the

main influences affecting farming, whether
food production is growing or declining
and how changes have occurred over the
time span selected.
An example of a trend analysis using

a table.
For the period before World War Two,
after the war and for the present time,
the table identifies changes over
time in village population, the extent
of natural environments, soil fertility,
distance from village to garden, the
amount of food produced and the
crops grown.
Developing the table provided the
stimulus for participants to reflect on
the extent to which conditions had
changed and to think about the future.

1960 1980 2000
A graphic developed from a trend analysis matrix similar to the table shown in the photograph on the previous
page. Covering the 40 years since 1960, the graphic represents in pictures how forest cover has declined,
food production has fallen and population has increased.

2. The present situation If necessary, a transect across a
representative sample of farmland can be
In this stage, the facilitator again uses the
made to identify areas used for different
matrix to identify:
crops and crop loss to insect pests.
• the importance of different crops the
This shows the things that affect crop
villagers grow for subsistence or for sale
production.
at the market
• what crops they would like to grow but
do not have seed, cuttings or tubers to Food crop importance and
grow availability matrix
• what foods are bought in from outside This matrix identifies the relative
the village and how reliant village importance of food crops and their
families are on store-bought food. availability through the year.
Process:
• draw up a matrix
• list crops grown and main foods eaten
by families down the vertical axis
• list headings across the horizontal
axis: plenty available from garden/
little available from garden/ bought
from store/ would like to grow but
do not/ grown for market/ high food
importance/ low food importance
• participants place a marker in the
relevant boxes in the matrix
• the facilitator draws the information
together to create a picture of what
foods are the most important, how
reliant families are on store foods, the
crops the project might be able to assist
farming families acquire and the division
of food production for subsistence and
the market.
Templates cut from paper

or cardboard provide an
alternative to the use of the
matrix and tables for the
collection of information.
Here (above), participants
group crops according to
whether they grow them or
buy them from the store.
(left)... templates showing food
bought from the trade store.

3. Cropping calendar
The cropping calendar tells us about the
distribution of farm work through the year:
• when different crops are planted,
harvested and processed
• busy and less busy times of the year
• the workload of men and women where
cropping entails gender-specific activities
• labour needs and availability at different
periods of the cropping cycle
• the existence of any ‘hungry period’
during which village food production
is low, food has to be bought from
the store or people have reduced food
consumption.
Process:
• draw a matrix
• on the vertical axis write a list of crops
grown
• on the horizontal axis write the months
of the year
• select markers (such as coconut shells,
seashells, clamshells, fruit) to represent
planting and harvesting times
• ask participants to place markers
representing planting and harvesting
times for cash crops
• use another marker to represent
crops that are continually planted and
harvested through the year.
A village farmer places

a marker in a planting
calendar matrix.
The matrix is drawn in
the sand. Objects such
as clam shells, coconuts,
sticks and shells are used
as markers.
A facilitator or note-taker
draws and writes the
information in a notebook.
This is later documented
(as shown next page) and
used in the planning of the
training program.

Planting calendar
Many crops can be continuously planted in Takwa.
This includes important root crops like edu and kaiai. Bibi and kusaia are other crops we can
plant and eat all year.
This planting calendar shows us when plants are planted and harvested in Takwa.
Takwa planting and harvest calendar...

PLANT JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
Kakama (Swamp Taro)
Alo (Taro)
Karofera (Kang Kong Taro)
Fana (Pana)
Kai (Yam)
Kai Roki (Kumera)
Kaiai (Cassava)
Bou (Banana)
Niu (Coconut)
Edu (Alocassia Taro)
Kusaia (Slippery Cabbage)
Bini (Bean)
Heavy Rain Wet Season Dry Season Wet

SCORING Season
Coconut—harvest
Bad time for Good bearing
vegetables- Kumera
Clamshell—planting
best later
Stick—growing time Less fruit on Kai Roki good Kai Roki good harvesting
Kumera planting
Leaf— continuous
planting and Busy planting Yam, Pana
harvest

4. Soil condition matrix 5. Combine information
If needed, an estimation of the fertility and A picture of the present situation affecting
condition of village farming soils can be farming in the village is created when the
made by walking a transect. information collected during this stage
is brought together by the facilitator and
A transect is a type of map:
participants.
• teams walk a preselected course to
identify a common set of information We have identified:
• a note taker with each team draws a • the foods most important to villagers
rough sketch map of the course walked, • whether the foods are plentiful or in
marking in relevant facts such as soil short supply
condition, crops grown, insect damage • the potential to grow extra food to
visible, buildings, waterways or whatever generate income at market
information you want to collect. • the potential for farmland soils to sustain
If all farming areas cannot be assessed, increased farming
then the help of the participants will be • the trend in food production, diversity
necessary to select a representative area. and crops over time.
Another approach would be to divide the We have the information that we now
workshop into groups of three to five and use to identify the most important issues
do transects over different areas. affecting food production.
Be sure to include a literate person in each

team to record and draw up what the teams
discover.
Process:
• decide on what information is to be
collected
• decide on transect start and finish
points and routes which
will provide the
information sought
• divide group into
teams of three to
four and include a
note-taker in each
team to record
the information
collected
• walk the transects,
identify and record the
information
• report back to the group
• compile information collected by
different teams on to a map.

6. The future 5. The facilitator then explains how to use
the brainstrorming technique to suggest
With our baseline information having
solutions to these issues and writes the
identified trends in the past that have led
ideas on the board; discussion of the
to the present farming and food supply
points written up during the brainstorm
situation and what the characteristics of that
produces a shortlist from which areas
situation are, we can now identify the major
can be selected for priority training
issues facing village food production and, if
they are negative, look to solutions to solve 6. The facilitator then helps the participants
them. determine which of their ideas are
achievable and which of them the
project could assist the villagers with;
The process: these become the focus of future
1. Explain that we are going to find out workshops.
what the big issues that support or limit
food production are at the present time.
2. Summarise the information collected Plan the training program
about historic trends and the present The information collected is used by project
situation. staff to plan a training program with the
3. Using questioning, help the participants villagers, now that they have identified the
draw out information about issues areas of greatest need.
such as land availability or tenure, soil After the facilitators return to their project
fertility, insect pests, drought, population base, a written report is produced,
increase, availability of seed, competition summarising the techniques used and the
from plantation crops and other factors information collected.
influencing farm productivity, including
crops and domestic animals (such as A copy is supplied to the villagers to
pigs) as well as hunting and fishing, if provide them with a record.
these are important sources of food. Now that the training needs of the villagers
4. The facilitator or note taker makes a list have been identified, the next phase is to
of these things on the board or on a flip plan a sequence of workshops that make
chart. up the training program.

Flip chart graphics:
1. Living and non-living fences:
b) Living fence of Gliricidia trees and bamboo
d) Big bush garden divided by living fences
e) Non-living fence of old fishing net and posts
2. Basket gardens
3. Table gardens
4. Using mulch:
a) Soil problems: no mulch
b) Why use mulch?
c) Making a mulched garden
d) Materials for mulching
e) Mulching with Gliricidia
5. Making a nursery
a) Making a nursery: planting mix
b) Making a nursery: planting seeds
6. Legumes
a) How do legumes fix nitrogen?
b) Identifying legumes
c) Alley cropping with Gliricidia
7. Safe pest management

a) Insect life cycle
b) Identifying insects in the garden
c) Plants used to make botanical sprays for pest management
d) Using botanic sprays
e) Benefits of botanic sprays
f) Crop rotation
FLIP CHART GRAPHICS (continued):
8. Keeping chickens
a) The needs and functions of chickens
b) The mobile chicken house
c) Moving the mobile chicken house
d) Feeding and caring for chickens
a) How to feed children:
1. 0–4 months
2. 4–6 months
3. 6-12 months
4. 1-2 years
5. from 2 years up
b) Mixed meal
2. Start to make a mixed meal
5. Add vegetables to the mixed meal
6. Use fruit instead of vegetables and greens
7. Healthy snacks assessment
1. Living and non-living fences
Living fence of pineapple
The pineapple plants are placed close together so that their
leaves touch when they have grown and they form a barrier.
Inside you plant vetiver grass close together to keep chickens
from flying over the pineapples.
A gate has been built to provide easy access for people.
© Kastom Gaden Association— IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS: flip chart graphic
1a)
1b)
Living fence of Gliricidia trees and bamboo

Cuttings of Gliricidia trees planted as posts.
Bamboo poles have been cut and tied to the Gliricidia posts.
The bamboo poles are tied close together to stop chickens or dogs
climbing between them and getting into the garden.
Living fence of vetiver grass
Vetiver grass is a stiff clumping grass which is planted close
together to make a living fence.
Vetiver grass makes one of the most successful of living fences.
1c)
1d)
Bush garden divided

by living fences
A large bush garden divided into smaller
gardens by living fences.
Gates are made to allow the gardeners
to move easily between gardens.
Non-living fence of old fishing net and posts
A non-living fence made of old fishing net stretched between posts.
The net is pulled tight and tied to the posts with rope.
Any holes in the net must be sewn closed to stop animals getting into the garden.
1e)
1f)
Non-living fence of logs

A bush garden divided into cropping areas with logs.
Logs have been placed around the
garden to form a wall to keep out animals.
2
2. Basket gardens
Basket gardens are made from dry banana leaf woven
between bamboo sticks placed in the ground. They are
then filled with organic matter.
The plant or seed is placed into the organic matter.
3
3. Table garden
The table garden lifts vegetables above the
reach of chickens, dogs and pigs.
Table gardens are used to grow shallow-
rooted vegetables such as Chinese
cabbage, tomatoes, pepper and shallots.
4. Using mulch
Soil problems: no mulch
Soil without mulch:
• dries out—no water for the plants
• gets hot—roots can be damaged
• has too little food for soil organisms–worms
• leave little nutrients for the plants
4a)
4b)
Why use mulch?

• it help plants grow strong
• it protects our soils
• it keeps water in the soil for plants
• it helps keep soil cool
adding
Mulch
Nutrients
Making a mulched garden
Mulch is laid out in rows.
Vegetable seedlings or seeds are planted
in rows between the rows of mulch.
As the mulch breaks down it
feeds the growing vegetable
plants.
4c)
4d)
Materials for mulching
USE:
plants, leaves, grass, food scraps
DON’T USE:
tins, bottles, plastic
4e)
Mulching with Gliricidia

Gliricidia trees can be slashed and the leaves used
on the garden as mulch. The trees will grow again.
Gliricidia can be grown in rows with crops planted
between the rows.
5a)
5. Making a nursery
Planting mix
Scraping coconut
husks into boxes
ready to mix
with soil
Making a nursery:
planting seeds
into seed box
Plant seeds into seed box filled with
three parts coconut husk to one part
soil.
© Kastom Gaden Association—

IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS: flip chart graphic
5b)
5c)
Transplant seedlings
into seedling box
Transplant germinated seed into the
seedling box.
The right distance apart to plant our
seedlings is as wide as the distance
between two knuckles.
6. Legumes
How do legumes
fix nitrogen?
In the air spaces between the soil
particles you will find nitrogen.
Small bacteria that live on the
roots of legumes take the
nitrogen from the soil air and
turn it into proteins in the plant.
These bacteria form nodules on
the roots.
6a)
6b)
Identifying legumes
Legumes can have their leaves in
groups of three, such as beans.
Gliricidia has a different type of leaf
pattern.
All legumes have a fruit which
is called a pod.
Legumes also have white, pink or
brown nodules on their roots. In these
root nodules nitrogen is taken in by
the bacteria and turned into plant
protein.
6c)
Alley cropping with Gliricidia

Gliricidia can be grown in rows with crops planted in alleys
between the rows.
Gliricidia trees can then be slashed and the leaves used on
the garden as mulch. The trees will grow again.
7a)
7. Safe Pest Management Larvae
Insect life cycle Larvae

Insects take a variety of
forms from egg to adult.
pupates
Insect eggs
on leaf
Adult
lays
eggs
Adult
Identifying
insects in
the garden
Walk a transect through
the garden to collect
and identify insects
© Kastom Gaden Association— IMPROVED

HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS: flip chart graphic
7b)
7c)
Plants used to make botanical

sprays for pest management
Tobacco Ginger Chilli Marigold

Making botanical sprays
Chilli Soap and

water
7d)
7e)
Using botanic sprays

Take care when using botanical sprays. Do not breath the spray if possible and
do not spray it on yourself. Wash your hands when you have finished spraying.
Spraying pest
Wash your hands when

you are finished spraying
Benefits of botanic sprays
Use botanic sprays carefully and only when insect pests are in large numbers.
The careful use of botanic sprays reduces insect pest damage and leaves
more food plants for you.
Botanical spray used No botanical spray used

7f)
7g)
Crop rotation
Following a crop in the
garden with a different
crop breaks the life cycle of
insect pests that might live in
the soil.
Bean Corn Crop rotation avoids
depleting the soil of
nutrients.
Kumera Cabbage
Shallot
8a)
8. Keeping of chickens
Needs and functions of
chickens
Chickens Chicken Chickens

need: functions: provide:
food clean up gardens eggs
shelter fertilise gardens meat
water eat insect pests
protection from
predators
health care
place to lay eggs
8b)
The mobile chicken house
Mobile chicken house showing

nesting box where eggs are laid
8c)
Moving the mobile

chicken house
Move mobile chicken house around the garden
8d)
Feeding and caring

for chickens
Put grass or
sawdust each
week
Give
coconut
Fill water
each day
Give leaves Give pawpaw
each day and kitchen
scraps
9a) 1
1. How to feed children:
0–4 months
• breast feed only
9a) 2

4–6 months
• breast feed
• start soft foods
Soft foods:
• potato • cabbage
• pumpkin • banana
• coconut • pawpaw
9a) 3

6-12 months
• breast feed
• 5 small meals a day
3 mixed meals and

2 good snacks
9a) 4

1-2 years
• 3 mixed meals
• 2 good snacks
• breast feed
9a) 5

from 2 years up
• 2-3 mixed meals
• 2-3 good snacks
9b)
Mixed meal
• mixed meals make healthy families
• vegetables for mixed meals can be grown
in our sup sup garden
9b) 1
1. A mixed meal is a
healthy meal
add some root
crops or rice and
some vegetables
add some add some
beans, eggs, coconut
fish or meat milk
9b) 2
2. Start to make a mixed meal
Start with one of

these:
• potato
• taro
• cassava
• yam
• banana
• corn
• rice
• (noodles or
biscuits)
9b) 3
Then add one of

these:
• beans
• peas
• nuts
9b) 4
Add one of these:

• egg
• fish
• seafood
• meat
• milk
9b) 5
5. Add vegetables to the

mixed meal
add:
• greens
• vegetables
9b) 6

Add 1 or more
fruit:
• pineapple
• paw paw
• banana
• apple
• banana
• star fruit
Grow fruit trees around

your house
9b) 7
7. Healthy snacks
Have 2-3 snacks
a day:
• coconut
• sugar cane
• banana
• paw paw
• pomelo
• nuts
• tomato
• pepper
• pineapple
• corn
Foods security, with shelter and health
care, is the basic need for any community
planning further development.
The Kastom Gaden Association and the

Solomon Islands Planting Material Network
are working with partner communities to
establish a secure food future in the Solomon
Islands.

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Solomon Islands

Kastom Gaden Association

Russ Grayson + Tony Jansen

Development aid agencies working

Applications for such permission, with a

Although the authors and publisher of

2 IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL

Roselyn Kabu Maenouri Kastom Gaden Association regional coordinator,

Additional content provided by:

Design & production

IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL 3

4 IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL

Improved Household Gardening Skills Manual—background: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Guide for trainers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Training session outline: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Flip chart graphics: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL 5

The authors of the manual all have

All of the terms refer to the management

The term sup sup garden refers to a small,

6 IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL

The farming techniques taught by Kastom

A range of foods are derived from the

8 IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL

Combined with ﬁsh and staple root crops

Trainers working for government and non-

The home food garden is important to the

Increasing the productivity of home gardens

IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL 9

It is in the bush garden that staple foods

Training village farmers in ecologically

These practices include:

10 IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL

The small nutrition garden

IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL 11

Guide for trainers:

Trainers planning workshop sessions

12 IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL

IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL 13

Africa and other countries. situation in the village and the

1. Preliminary workshop • women’s groups

The ﬁrst stage in our approach to • church organisations

agricultural training is the community food • community leaders

security assessment. • government personnel

After identifying the problems

All of this is done through the

Kastom Garden Program regional

14 IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL

A series of workshops can be held in the

IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL 15

PTD approach to ﬁeld assessment and training

identify agricultural problems

identify solutions through ﬁeld trials

share knowledge of successful ﬁeld trials

16 IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL

1. Planning the workshops

3. Participants deﬁne expectations

1. Planning the workshops

IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL 19

20 IMPROVED HOUSEHOLD GARDENING SKILLS—A SOUTH PACIFIC TRAINERS MANUAL