India may be the second-largest food producer in the world, but it also has the second-largest undernourished population. Additionally, anemia affects more than 50% of Indian mothers, contributing to the high risk of low-birth-weight infants. High rates of stunting, excessive weight, and mortality in children under the age of five are closely correlated with an unbalanced diet and a shortage of food. The Indian government has put in place programs to guarantee food security and access to enough good food in sufficient quantities. To address the problem of food security, it is necessary to consider a variety of tactics. In order to improve national food security and dietary diversity and fight malnutrition, community and nutrition gardens can play a significant role. Making a kitchen garden is an ideal way to teach individuals about nature and nutrition – and they can eat what they harvest too.
Keeping that in mind CWS and the team for enhancing national food security and dietary diversity to combat malnutrition came up with a solution by converting patches of wasteland into vegetable gardens near rural and suburban areas.
The enthusiasm and activeness of the CWS volunteer Kistaiah from Kadiripalli village at Gunthakal block, Ananthapuram district, Andhra Pradesh state made him get the ASW project in initiating a Nutri-kitchen garden. Initially, Kistaiah was given 14 types of vegetable seeds and a few plants in June 2022 which he sowed in his garden by installing fences in the backyard garden, which was vacant land.
The knowledge given in Nutrition Garden helped him in applying jeevamrutham and Ghana-jeevarutham as natural fertilizers for plants.
With his efforts, he is able to get fresh and organic veggies from his garden. His daughter who came to his home for delivery was able to eat fresh, nutritious vegetables from the garden, which helped to improve her health condition.
Now he is able to grow 18 types of vegetables from his garden for which he is very joyful and freely distributes the fresh vegetables to his neighbors, relatives, and friends.
He expressed his gladness saying that he is also able to earn Rs. 2,000/- from the sale of the vegetables from his garden.
Kistaiah’s family is very happy and their efforts created a model in the Kadiripalli project village for others to replicate the methods of nutritional gardening in natural ways.
During November 2022, CWS staff and volunteers from the BfdW project locations, visited the Nutri-garden which was initiated by our CWS volunteer Kistaiah, Kadiripalli village in CWS/ASW project location. Kistaiah was very happy and interested in sharing his experiences with the participants.
