Families in Kole District adopt kitchen gardening to generate income and boost nutrition
“At home we eat a balanced diet. I know what a balanced diet is because the people from the district came to teach us."
As you branch off to Henry Onyare’s home in Ayer Town Council, in Kole District, a clean handwashing facility with a small piece of blue soap – both placed on a stool – welcome you.
Henry and his family know how important handwashing and living in a clean environment is for disease prevention such as diarrhoea, one of the major child killers in Uganda.
A short distance from their house on a seven-acre piece of land, Henry and his family are engaged in crop production, fish farming and agro forestry. The family has planted fruit trees and other crops such as groundnuts, vegetables, peas, maize and ‘simsim’ or sesame seeds. At his fish pond, Henry says he is farming Nile Talapia.
All this knowledge in good hygiene and agriculture was passed on to Henry’s family and other community members by Kole District authorities as part of the implementation of the Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU).
Funded by the European Union, UNICEF implements DINU in 15 districts in northern and north-eastern Uganda with a focus on implementing nutrition services as part of an integrated and multi-sectoral package that addresses malnutrition in a holistic manner.
“At home we eat a balanced diet. I know what a balanced diet is because the people from the district came to teach us. Our children have not suffered from malnutrition. We are informed,”
Richard Opiyo, the Kole District nutrition focal person, says that following a UNICEF-DINU training that several district officials attended in 2019, the knowledge has trickled down to community members. He adds that engaging in agriculture provides an income for families, in addition to preventing malnutrition through diet diversification.
John Lemoeko, Kole District Fisheries Officer reveals that families are encouraged to practice integrated farming depending on their conditions.
In Balla sub-county, located in Kole, families have also adopted their farming practices and have learnt to eat vegetables and greens, which they originally thought was meant for animals only. Lawrence Ogweng, the sub-county chief, who is also the chairperson of the sub-county nutrition committee, says that communities were sensitized about kitchen gardening, good hygiene, health seeking behaviour and keeping children in school, which all contribute to eradicating malnutrition.
Lawrence, who attended the UNICEF-DINU training says, “the training opened our eyes. There is a lot we didn’t know. We are now empowered and know the importance of planning, budgeting and implementing integrated nutrition activities.”
Bonny Olong, secretary of Aboke Young Farmers Cooperative Society Ltd in Aboke sub-county, notes that they have five acres of land where they have planted tomatoes for sale. On another piece of land, members of the cooperative have planted greens and tomatoes for personal consumption. “The money we get from the sale of tomatoes and other crops is used to pay school fees, take our children for treatment if they are sick, and meet other personal demands. On the other piece of land, we plant for consumption to keep ourselves and our families healthy,” he explains.
Kitchen gardening is becoming an increasingly appreciated resource that contributes to food and nutritional security and livelihoods in many communities in Kole District. In addition, kitchen gardens promote entrepreneurship and rural development, helping to uplift families and ensure that their children can grow healthily and learn to their best abilities.
