A story of Mama Fin: Vegetables for villagers

A woman smiles proudly looking at her garden full of leafy vegetables, while chewing a betel nut. She is Mama Fin, a 46-year-old woman who owns a wide, green garden. A green vegetable garden is an unusual sight in South Oenenu, a village in East Nusa Tenggara because like most areas in the province, this village doesn’t have fertile land.

"Previously, we couldn’t eat vegetables like we do today. The vegetables were too expensive for us," Mama Fin remembers.

South Oenenu village is difficult to reach. The villagers walk miles away to reach Kefamenanu, a town in East Nusa Tenggara where a market exists. To buy vegetables and other daily needs, villagers needed to cross a stony road and a river. It was very difficult journey to buy a bundle of vegetables.

Most of villagers just ate plain rice and boiled yam. When they were busy doing daily jobs, they could only cook instant noodle for family including their children. As a result, many children in South Oenenu village suffered from malnutrition.

Based on these conditions, Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI) in North Central Timor started to assist the village in 2013 especially in the agricultural and nutrition sector. It seemed impossible at first because it was not easy to plant anything on dry land. But using a new technique, the villagers could finally plant vegetables, even in infertile soil.

Double digging is a technique by digging two holes, amending one with soil and compost dug from the first hole, prior to planting.

Mama Fin also applied double digging technique when she plants vegetables in her yard. The results were incredible. The dry ground, now amended, has turned green. The nutritious garden provides daily vegetables for the Mama Fin’s family and her neighbors.

"Because of World Vision’s training, we can consume vegetables every day," Mama Fin says proudly. "There are still abundant vegetables left in my house that I often share it with my neighbors. I also sell the vegetables in the market."

Like Mama Fin, other villagers started to plant vegetables using the same technique. By planting nutrition gardens at their homes, most villagers can consume nutritious food every day.

"Nobody suffers from malnutrition anymore," Mama Fin declares.

-Written by Rena Tanjung, Field Communications Officer, World Vision Indonesia.