Kitchen Gardens and Poultry Improve Family’s Nutrition and Income
Salma, a model farmer who inspires others in her community, has come a long way from the days when she thought her duty as a housewife strictly meant preparing food and washing clothes. Her family of five used to live hand to mouth, basing their meals and income on rice, the only crop her farmer husband grew. She qualified to join a Self-Help Group overseen by local partner SATHI and soon began learning new ideas and applying them to her daily life.
With her husband’s blessing, Salma established a small vegetable garden, using worms in her compost pile to improve the soil and natural pest management and other environmentally-friendly farming practices. It was Salma’s first kitchen garden and she was successful at it. Loans from her group’s internal savings and lending association helped her grow a greater variety of vegetables. She became more and more active in her group and began helping others start their own gardens.
SATHI staff was impressed with her results and enthusiasm, and invited her to take part in “model farmer” training with the goal of encouraging others. Among the many agricultural activities Salma studied during her training, poultry rearing caught her eye.
“I used to have no idea about good nutrition or its sources,” said Salma. “Now I’ve learned how we can get better nutrition from kitchen gardening and chickens, and if we grow more vegetables or raise more poultry we can earn money to meet other family needs.” She has a plan to establish a sustainable poultry farm as a business.
Thanks to your generosity and support
• Model farmers teach, support and encourage their peers in sustainable farming practices
• More families have access to a variety of nutritious foods
• Community groups have successfully advocated to their local governments for technical support
Bangladesh Kendua Program
Led by World Renew and Local Partner SATHI