LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT THE SUITABILITY OF SACKGARDENS FOR FAMILIES LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS

A typical constraint for families whose members live with HIV/AIDS is labor to work the fields. This may result in hunger, further exacerbating the need for better nutrition so that anti-retroviral treatment can be effective in lengthening the live span of AIDS patients. Furthermore, access to land continues to be a constraint to many urban dwellers and many rural poor whether or not they are HIV+ . The following article describes a technology developed to overcome these constraints.

Global Service Corps Tanzania (GSC-TZ) is involved in training farmers on bio-intensive agriculture in villages of Arumeru district. In connection to this, GSC-TZ trains groups of town dwellers in the urban outskirts of Arusha town to grow vegetables organically. The simplest way to grow these vegetables in an urban setting is through the use of sack gardens. The goal is to have fresh green, quality produce available at the doorstep for the daily needs of the family. Sack gardening is a method involving growing vegetables in durable and porous sacks which are filled with a mixture of either compost or manure and soil; compost is preferred. In the center of the sack is a column of coarse rocks which help in watering to distribute the water to all the plants.

Establishing SackGardens:

This method of planting is particularly good for people who have little

space available.

•Place a sack on the ground. Place a 4 inch diameter post in the

middle of the sack.

•Fill around the post using a mixture of topsoil and manure or compost.

Make sure the soil is packed fairly well, filling until the bag is full. (When you are done the bag will be full. Pull out the post carefullyand place in the hollow center a course ground rock mix. Thus there willbe a column of rocks in the center and topsoil/manure mixture all aroundthe sides.)

•Punch holes around the bag, with about 6 inches between holes.

The holes must be large enough to plant seedlings.

•Water the bag by pouring water through the rocks in the

center—the rocks will disperse the water to the sides of the bag. To

make sure all the plants get water, check the holes. Water accordingly.

Lessons learned:

Lessons have been learned in establishing sack gardens, constructed with families under GSC-TZ guidance in two phases in Arusha area over a three month period during the last quarter of 2007. Innocent Paulin, a GSC-TZ Counterpart comments on the activities and the results which were not always positive:

“I started with a GSC-TZ volunteer to locate 5 sites to pilot this project. We were pressed for time because of the volunteer’s short length of stay, and families had been identified hurriedly only two days before we commenced the sack garden construction. We had not prepared adequate top soil and compost, so were forced to use powdery manure. This was not ideal. However, all other procedures needed to make sack gardens were followed, including training the families on how to construct and maintain the sacks. At two week intervals, the families were visited and the sacks were found to have germinated well. Chinese cabbage and kale were growing from the sacks. However, as time progressed it was found that the seedlings were not growing well, the manure-to-soil ratio perhaps too high, or lack of watering by those attending the sacks. Ranging poultry had destroyed many of the plants. It was found that there was a lack of commitment by the families, and this first phase tended toward failure.”

“A second phase was undertaken the following month in three new sites with HIV+ groups. During this phase, families were identified more in advance, and their commitment was required – they showed this by arranging transport of the compost from an off-loading area to their home sites, and arranging for soil to add. The project support was limited to provision of sacks, seeds and technical guidance. In this instance, proper compost was utilized. Follow-up visits were made and it is seen that there is a higher commitment. At this time, the families are enjoying produce from the sacks.”

Innocent shares other lessons he has learned: “Sack gardens are a wonderful project for families living with HIV/AIDS. The simple technology uses locally available materials to produce fresh vegetables at the doorstep which are easy to manage and harvest. While many people feel this is a project for urban dwellers, I believe it has a wider use even in rural villages. As long as people are committed and trained, they can be successful. The sack gardens are good wherever people lack land or water or labor to work their land. This is a very common problem in the densely populated areas of Arumeru. In my experience, many people in towns focus their minds on other things and do not recognize the importance of producing their own food. This mind-set needs to change. It helps if we really seek out needy families and groups, such as orphanages, widows, women groups and people living with HIV/AIDS. In rural areas, we should focus this project on those lacking land or labor, such as families headed by young members as a result of HIV/AIDS. They will have the needed commitment to protect and maintain the sack gardens, and see the great results. For those whose sacks are not maintained, the project should have a mechanism to remove the sack gardens to new, higher committed families. That is an advantage of the sack garden – it can be removed and better placed.”

Over the coming three months, GSC-TZ is planning to establish over 100 more sack gardens among members of HIV+ groups in the Arusha vicinity. The lessons learned in the early trials will be followed in the on-going efforts to provide these families with a means for better home food security.

Prepared by Innocent Paulin and Erwin Kinsey of GSC-TZ

February 2008