2011 National Nutrition Survey reported that 23% of Filipino kids claimed to be food insecure. 5 out of 10 are suffering from malnutrition. Nationwide more than 3 million of them are suffering from this health problem. To 3,000 malnourished Filipino kids from Cavite and Lipa, Aral Pinoy (Education Philippines) will help their parents to cultivate sustainable gardening system to address household food security by providing them micro-nutrient-rich and fresh vegetables for a year.
In spite of all the national government's efforts today, there is still a need to come up with stronger local household-led initiatives and concrete action to address food insecurity. A Filipino household consists of five members. However, many parents from the households of Cavite and Lipa in rural areas have no financial means to cultivate sustainable vegetable garden.
Aral Pinoy will organize a FREE hands-on seminar on sustainable vegetable gardening system among 100 gardeners/parents to produce micro-nutrient-rich and fresh vegetables. It is an actual demo, hands-on experience and guided supervision on how to cultivate in a 50sqm lot the 18 vegetables found in a popular Filipino folk song "Bahay Kubo" (Nipa Hut): Singkamas, Talong, Sigarilyas, Mani, Sitaw, Bataw, Patani, Kundol, Patola, Upo, Kalabasa, Labanos, Mustasa, Sibuyas, Kamatis, Bawang, Luya, Linga.
The bigger goal is not only to make one Filipino household less hungry but to end hunger for all Filipinos. Through quality EDUCATION, life-giving RELATIONSHIPS and being true FILIPINO, this project ensures that the 100 gardeners/parents cultivate sustainable vegetable garden to address household food security, improve access to a variety of micro-nutrient-rich and fresh vegetables and generate income to improve the quality of life and livelihood specially among those in rural areas.
