Home Food Garden Project (COVID-19 Response)

humanandhope.org

The Home Food Garden Project will support 50 families experiencing food insecurity in Sambour Commune in rural Siem Reap, Cambodia. The goal of the Home Food Garden Project is to provide these families with hands-on training, mentoring, seeds, fertiliser and resources, enabling them to establish food production using their existing land.

This project will be implemented by our program partner (HHA’s) local Project Coordinators, who will conduct hands-on training and mentoring, providing the families with free seeds, fertiliser and resources to launch their own gardens. The families will be provided with recycled containers and wood to make their own vegetable beds, utilising their limited land.

The training course will include:

• the importance of using natural resources to grow vegetables as opposed to dangerous chemicals, which are commonly used in Cambodia,
• choosing the right vegetables for their land, how to grow vegetables and;
• how to make their own fertiliser.

The families who are selected will sign a contract as a way of demonstrating their commitment to establishing their home garden. Following training and mentoring, the Project Coordinators will continue informally mentoring the families for two months, in order to provide support and ensure the success of these gardens in establishing sustainable, long-term food security. All resources will be purchased from small businesses in the community, injecting much-needed funds into their hard-hit economy.

The expected short-term outcomes of the project were:
1. 50 families will complete the Home Food Garden Project course
2. 100% of participants increase their knowledge about basic chemical-free farming
3. 100% of participants have access to the required resource to establish their home gardens
4. 50 families have improved nutrition

All the above outcomes were achieved. This was measured through pre and post program surveys and beneficiary feedback at the end of the project cycle. Each participant’s home was visited to verify the results.

It should be noted that in April 2021, several communities in Siem Reap went into lockdown due to a significant COVID-19 outbreak. The Managing Director of our program partner, HHA Cambodia, said “Our home garden is a really good project to help people grow their own food during this lockdown. We are not worried, because all participants say they can feed themselves with the food.”

The expected long-term outcomes of the project are:

1. The alleviation of food insecurity in 50 families due to creating self-sustainable gardens
2. Improved nutrition, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of children under five years old who are stunted in those 50 families
3. Other families will be inspired to replicate the Home Food Garden, positively impacting nutrition of the wider community
4. In the case of families who have surplus produce, this puts them in the position to sell their chemical-free vegetables to other families, generating an income