Teaching farming to over 1,000 families in India

In some of Odisha's most remote villages we are promoting kitchen gardening to tackle the food insecurity suffered by many marginalised tribal communities.

The people here face many challenges in terms of food production which are compounded by low rainfall and lack of nearby water sources. Male members of the family are often pushed to migrate to cities in search of work, leaving the entire responsibility for feeding the family to the women. However, lack of knowledge has made women stick to unsustainable methods of farming, including over-dependence on chemical fertilisers and synthetic pesticides which, as well as becoming unaffordable, have significantly degraded the soil quality. The net result is severe food insecurity and ultimately malnutrition, particularly amongst children.  

Shivia's kitchen garden programme offers women the tools and training to ensure they can feed their families all year round with nutritious home-grown fruit and vegetables and earn money by selling any extra produce.

Our ‘toolkit’ includes six to eight types of summer and winter seeds for year-round production and consumption. We also provide some basic farming tools and the materials to make a organic compost. We also teach our farmers how to make their own bio-pesticides.

As with all our programmes, we ask all our farmers to make a small contribution towards the toolkit, in this case RS. 100 (approx. £1). This model of 'skin in the game' works across all our programmes and ensures that farmers quickly develop a sense of ownership of their new enterprise.  They remain committed to the programme and value the toolkits, training and ongoing services that we provide.

We have already helped 600 women start their own kitchen garden, many of whom are now completely independent of our services, having learned all they need to know for a bright and productive future. 

"Involving women in traditionally male-dominated activities like agriculture can challenge cultural norms and promote gender equality. This inclusion can open doors for women in other areas of work such as setting up new enterprises and taking on leadership roles within the community.  When women earn money and take control of how it is spent, whole communities thrive." Joe Rao, Shivia's Lead Consultant in India.

"I have planted chillies, radishes, aubergines and tomato plants in my kitchen garden that provide my family with plenty of nutrition. And I sold extra vegetables for a good price in the local market and made a profit of Rs. 2,500 (c. £25) this season. That has given me pride and satisfaction - thank you!" Padmabati, Shivia-trained farmer, Odisha