Any gardener will tell you that the best tasting vegetables are the ones you grew yourself. Sr. Janefrances, Mombasa site director, realized there was a need for gardens in her community in Kenya. Though they start small, gardens grow to make a huge impact, especially for those who aren’t getting all their essential nutrients.
In Mombasa site, vulnerable communities aren’t eating robust diets that have enough variety, especially when it comes to vitamin-rich produce. Food insecurity is a challenge for most families in the sites. If parents aren’t able to grow their own produce, they face expensive market prices.
Similarly, groups such as elderly and those living with chronic illnesses can’t work due to health issues. These two groups are affected by malnutrition – and it can have the most urgent consequences on their health.
To bring health back to her community, Sr. Janefrances, requested support from Chalice to help families in need start their own ‘kitchen gardens,’ the local term for family-sized vegetable plots.
With Chalice donors’ support, 100 sponsored and 80 non-sponsored participated in a year-long program to transform into confident kitchen gardeners.
The site provided training on their new kitchen gardens. The participants built nursery beds in two communities Miritini and Kikambala with hardy green crops such as kale, amaranth, and spinach. After approximately 2-3 weeks, the seedlings were ready to be moved from the nursery bed to their kitchen gardens for harvesting. The families can then enjoy their delicious and nutritious vegetables at their dinner table.
“They loved to be part of the project,” Sr. Janefrances says, “Neighboring families have been impressed with what’s going on in their gardens.”
A gift of farming grows sustainable crops and improves living standards. “The beneficiaries were so happy and grateful for the gift of food, we could see that in their eyes,” says Christine, a social worker and the site’s nutritionist. “The kitchen garden project has really impacted positively to the lives of our beneficiaries.” The families have enough surplus produce to sell for extra income!
“Parents can earn some money from the harvest to pay other bills,” Sr. Janefrances says, “and some of them have been able to pay school fees for their children.”
You can help a family bloom their garden by gifting them seeds and gardening tools from our Spring Gift catalogue.
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