Kitchen Garden

The forest of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Burma) have always been the traditional “grocery store” for rural people. Villagers would collect an amazingly wide variety of plants from the forests made up the major proportion of their supply of vegetables. There was little need to plant and cultivate vegetables when they were free for the picking in the jungles.

That is no longer the case. In recent years, as population density has increased and restrictions on obtaining forest products are more rigidly enforced the quantities of vegetables from forest areas that villagers have gathered has been going down. This reduction in vegetables in the diet has had a negative effect on nutrition.

Because vegetables have for so long been free, the concept of actually planting and caring for vegetable gardens around the home was a relatively new concept for many hilltribe villagers, and it took some getting used to. However, Heifer initiated training and follow-up has convinced many communities of the benefits of kitchen gardens.

To help improve villagers’ nutrition and quality of life, Heifer has expanded the concept of kitchen gardens to include related food-producing activities. One of those activities is raising chickens in small coops as a source of eggs. Another activity is raising fish in small (2 x 4 meter) ponds located in the home compound. In some villages, the chicken coops are located directly above the fish pond, so chicken droppings become fish food. Water from the fish ponds help fertilizes the vegetables in the kitchen gardens.

Heifer in Action

Mr.Blia from Doi Tew village, Tha Wang Pha district, Nan province each morning would take five of her children with her to the fields while the other two were at school. She had to work hard to earn an income of about 80 baht per day (less than 3 US dollars). This amount had to cover her expenses for food, tuition fees, and other necessities. Life was hard. Her only reason for living was her children. Then, when she was introduced to ‘kitchen gardens’ by Heifer Thailand, her life has changed. This small-scale integrated farming activity provided her a method to use a small plot of land for raising fish and layer chickens as well as growing vegetables. In her garden, the fish eat the chicken dropping and she uses the water from the fishpond for the vegetables. After only one month, Ms.Bila observed the difference: the vegetables grew well, the hens produced eggs. The catfish from the pond provided them a delicious meal. Her children were no longer hungry.