Excerpt from reliefweb.int
Honga, Kristina, and their children live in Sumba, an island in Indonesia’s east.
They are part of SurfAid’s NUSATANI program, which supports the local communities in the region to strengthen agricultural production on their family farms, stimulate income generation, and promote improved healthcare practices.
The family share roles with Honga and Kristina preparing the land and planting seeds, and the older children helping by watering the crops. Recently they attended a series of training sessions to improve their agricultural practice. Their eldest son Yanto joined in as he hopes to join his family farm one day.
Since the training, the family have switched to using organic materials for crop fertilisation. Additionally they’ve begun planting various types of vegetables to create diversified and sustainable sources of income. Their crops include pak coy, mustard greens, kale, and tomatoes.
“I no longer have difficulty purchasing nutritious vegetables to feed my children. They’re readily available in my own garden,” Kristina tells us.
The family sell some of their harvest to local residents, and keep some for their own cooking. They have been attending nutrition and cooking classes at their local community health post and learnt about the importance of making their vegetable intake more consistent.
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