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SESSION 8

PROMOTION OF HOME GARDENS
FOR IMPROVED NUTRITION:
THIRD HOME GARDEN VISIT

Objective

By the end of this session, field workers will:

know how to use a consultative method to help households make their own decisions on home garden improvements;
discuss and analyse household problems and their causes and explore solutions with community groups and individual households.

FIGURE 8.1
Women home garden managers preparing a log of their daily activities

OVERVIEW

The issues discussed so far have been mainly technical, with Sessions 2 through 6 providing the information and skills field workers need to assist households and communities in improving the diversity and productivity of their home gardens for improved household nutrition. When promoting home gardens, however, transferring technical knowledge and skills alone is not enough. Helping households develop their home gardens and enhance household food security requires a strategy that takes into account the household's socio-economic situation, including access to natural resources, income and labour, as well as the local culture and traditions. Attention must also be paid to the specific needs of women, who are often responsible for home gardening but may lack the support to make improvements.

This should be an interactive process whereby field workers facilitate a process of learning and analysis not only for themselves but also for the household and community members. In this way, households are better equipped to make their own decisions on the actions they wish to take.

In this session, participants use Checklist 3, to assist households in moving from looking at the problems and their causes to thinking about what can be done to solve those problems. Gaining a good understanding of why some gardens are not as productive as they could be, or why a household's nutritional levels are inadequate, provides a good basis for helping individual or groups of households make their own decisions, identify solutions and prepare plans of action. Such a process requires teamwork, sensitivity and certain skills in facilitation on the part of field workers (see also Technical Notes, Session 7).

ACTIVITIES

This session begins with the presentation of the group's findings of the second home garden visit. The group's recommendations for follow-up provides an entry point for discussions and preparation for the third home garden visit. In preparation for the third and last home garden visit, participants practise the household consultation method. They will also have a chance during this session to strengthen their teamwork skills, as well as the facilitation and communication skills they learned in Session 7 (see Technical Notes, Session 7).

Preparation for group presentation. Each group uses Table 4.1, "Problems in the local food system and opportunities for improvement", to help categorize and summarize the gathered information. Each group subsequently selects three or four of the most important problems that have been identified by the household. An analysis of the problems now begins following the method practised during the case study diagnosis. Each group constructs a causal model of the identified problems. This is followed by each group choosing one causal model or problem tree which it presents in plenary but without suggesting any solutions or identifying potential interventions. The final part of thinking about solutions and formulating plans of action will be undertaken during the third household visit.

Presentation. Using the Technical Notes for this session, the trainer introduces the Household Consultation Method and Checklist 3.

Role play. Using the findings from Checklist 2 and from plenary group presentations of Table 4.1, the trainer explains the household consultation method, referring to the Technical Notes for this session.

Participants divide into groups and each group plays the role of household or adviser. For each of the four parts of the Household Consultation, there should be two households and two advisers represented. On the part of the households, husbands and wives should participate in the role play, as they make joint decisions on home garden development.
Participants prepare their roles, reviewing once more the findings of Checklist 2 and consulting the home garden map from Session 7, as well as Tables 7.2, 8.1 and 8.2.
Each group then portrays a consultation session.

Discussion. The group members discuss their reactions to the household consultation method and to the task of facilitation.

Individual household visits. Each group of participants should now make its own arrangements to visit a household where it will conduct a household consultation. Participants will be able to apply their acquired facilitation and counselling skills with the aim of assisting households identify practical solutions to their problems. The consultation should be conducted following the method practised. The day after completing the household consultation, each group of participants should present in plenary a completed Checklist 3 together with the households' plans of action.

MATERIALS REQUIRED

Completed Table 4.1
Completed Checklist 2 from Session 7
Checklist 3
map of the home garden from Session 7
Table 7.2, "Home garden crops and livestock", Table 8.1, "Suggested crop locations in the home garden", and Table 8.2, "Suggested layers of crops".
Technical notes

TECHNICAL NOTES

HOUSEHOLD CONSULTATION METHOD

The household consultation method is designed to help household members discuss problems and their causes, and to identify solutions. It can help people change their attitudes and make their own decisions about changes they wish to make in the future. Visiting field workers should help household members think about and discuss their situations. They should ask, listen and find out what household members already know, and what they need and want to know.

Field workers should also share useful information, give advice on what to do (for example, when a child is ill and needs treatment) or counsel household members if they need help with working out a problem. In such situations, field workers should encourage the household members to suggest ways in which they can solve their problem or improve their nutrition situation.

If necessary, field workers can suggest some ideas, however, household members should decide what is best for them. It is very important to discuss several alternatives and not just one. It is not necessary for field workers to follow the household consultation method strictly; it is more important that they work with members of the household to help them decide on what actions to take to solve their food and nutrition problems. The process of identifying problems, their causes and possible solutions helps people develop new skills and confidence in their own abilities.

Note: The trainer should emphasize that if participants notice a child is sick or malnourished while visiting a home, the health worker in the team either explains to the parents what needs to be done (e.g. if a child has diarrhoea and suffers from dehydration, he/she shows the parents how to prepare oral rehydration solution) or advises that the child be taken for treatment to the nearest health centre.

Third home garden visit. During the second home garden visit, field workers should have completed Parts A through H of Checklist 2 with the households. They should also have analysed the information and identified the most important problems and their causes based on the answers provided in Checklist 2. The third household visit serves to review and confirm the problem analysis together with the household members. This is done through the administration of Checklist 3. Following the household consultation method, field workers facilitate a discussion to help households complete Checklist 3, after which they assist households in completing the plans of action.

CHECKLIST 3:

THIRD HOME GARDEN VISIT

A) Food security and nutritional status

1. Has the household achieved year-round food security? If not, what are the major constraints and their causes?

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2. What are the main child nutrition and health problems? Do these health problems indicate nutritional deficiencies?

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3. Does the diet provide sufficient energy and nutrients? If not, what is lacking? Why?

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4. What kinds of food would improve the household diet?

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5. What percentage of the household's food needs are being met from the produce of the home garden?

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6. What are some of the positive features and opportunities that help the household address the identified problems and their causes?

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Plan of action

How does the household plan to solve the food problems?

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B) Diversity and quality of the household diet

7. Could the home garden contribute more to household food needs in terms of improving the quality and diversity of the household diet?
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8. What nutrients are scarce in the diet (e.g. energy from carbohydrates or fat/oil, protein, vitamins and minerals)?

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9. Which home garden foods could supply these nutrients?

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10. Which plants and animals in Table 7.2 "Home garden crops and livestock" are not common in this home garden?

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Plan of action

What does the household plan to grow?

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What problems were raised, what are their causes and how can the problems be solved?

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What aspects of nutrition do the household members need to know about?

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C) Meeting household food needs year round

11. Could the home garden contribute to producing a larger quantity of household food needs? ..............................................................................................................................................

12. What does the soil need (circle any that apply)?

a. Feeding

b. Water management

c. Erosion management

13. Could productivity be significantly increased? If so, how?

a. Multilayer planting
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b. Increased diversity
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c. Pruning
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d. Plant selection
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e. Use of organic matter
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f. Plant spacing
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g. Pest management
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14. Are inputs (e.g. seed, planting materials, fertilizer) available? If not, why not?

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15. Does the household have access to a year-round water source? If not, why not?

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Plan of action
How many plants will be planted and where?

Plant	Number	Location
a) ..................................... ........................................ ........................................ b) ..................................... ........................................ ........................................ c) ..................................... ........................................ ........................................
What are the problems and their causes, and how can the problems be solved? ................................................................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................................................

D) Human resources

16. Is the household well informed about nutrition?

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17. Is the household new to this area?

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18. Are the household members experienced farmers?

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19. Do they have a realistic appreciation of the home garden potential?

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20. How much labour is available for the cultivation of the home garden? Is this sufficient? If not, why not?

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21. Who does most of the work in the home garden?

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Plan of action
What are the problems and their causes, and how does the household plan to solve them?
Crop	Problem	Proposed action
...................................... ....................................................................
General ...................................... ....................................................................

CHECKLIST 3:

NOTES FOR THE FIELD WORKER

A) Food security and nutrition

The field worker reviews the questions with the households, completes Section A of Checklist 3, and then:

asks the mother to suggest ways of immediately helping the children gain weight and grow, if necessary;
identifies with the mother any nutritional gaps in the children's diet;
discusses with the husband and wife gaps in food availability (e.g. lack of weaning foods, lack of time for the mother to feed the children) and identifies problems in food processing, food preparation and food utilization;
analyses with the husband and wife why these gaps exist;
discusses how to fill these gaps by growing more of what is needed, growing and selling to purchase what cannot be grown, or processing what is already available;
reviews with the household the amount of time the mother spends on different activities every day, especially fetching water and fuelwood, and the effects this has on food preparation and child feeding;
encourages the household to think about ways of reducing the mother's workload (e.g. constructing a water well to save labour and supplying water for a dry-season kitchen garden, sharing child care among neighbouring households or friends, encouraging the father and older children to help the mother in her daily chores).

The field worker and the family together complete the plan of action at the end of
Section A in Checklist 3.

B) Diversity and quality of the household diet

The field worker reviews the questions with the households, completes Section B of Checklist 3, and then:

reviews Table 7.2, "Home garden crops and livestock", with the household and discusses any obvious nutritional or food security problems;
asks the household members to suggest a few crops that they like to eat but do not at present grow;
discusses with the household members why they are not growing these foods.

If there is a technical problem (e.g. poor soil fertility, lack of appropriate inputs or no dry-season water source), the field worker should explore with the household how this can be addressed. If planting materials are in short supply, the field worker should explore with the household the sources of these materials and ways to improve the supply
(e.g. seed exchanges, starting a local nursery or obtaining supplies through a local trader). If the family members do not know the food value of the selected crops, the field worker can provide a list, such as Table 2.2, "Nutritional values of raw and processed foods commonly consumed". If the family members cannot read, a drawing or poster showing pictures of all the different foods can be prepared and distributed to them after the work is completed.

The field worker and the household together complete the plan of action at the end of Section B in Checklist 3.

C) Meeting household food needs year round

The field worker reviews the questions with the households, completes Section C of Checklist 3, and then:

discusses with the husband and wife how their home garden structure can be intensified (e.g. more fruit-trees, multilayer cropping);
discusses with the husband and wife their remarks on individual crops in Table 7.2, "Home garden crops and livestock", and brings up any general or specific problems, such as those concerning the preparation and use of compost, crop protection and the production of better crop diversity ;
decides with the husband and wife the amount of each crop to be planted for increased household food supplies;
consults Table 8.1, "Suggested crop locations in the home garden", and Table 8.2, "Suggested layers of crops", and identifies possible locations for the selected plants, assisting the husband and wife in preparing a map of the home garden or using the one prepared during the assessment, and explaining why a map is useful.

The field worker and the household together complete the plan of action at the end of Section C in Checklist 3.

D) Human resources

The field worker reviews the questions with the households, completes Section D of Checklist 3, and then:

discusses with the husband and wife the importance of food and nutrition knowledge to the health of family members;
describes ways that the husband and wife can find out more about nutrition (e.g. at local health centres, from women's groups) and farming techniques (e.g. from good home gardens in the area, farmers' groups or agricultural extension agents);
provides copies of appropriate Home Garden Technology Leaflets;
describes the potential of the home garden, pointing out how local conditions such as land area, available labour, soil type and rainfall can limit or enhance a garden's food potential;
explores with the husband and wife how much time they can make available for the work required.

Together, the field worker and the household complete the plan of action at the end of Section D in Checklist 3.

TABLE 8.1
Suggested crop locations in the home garden

Plants for moist areas	Plants that cover the soil
Banana	Cucumber
Oil-palm	Pumpkin
Sugar cane	Sweet potato
Taro	Vine legumes
Plants to grow on a trellis	Plants as living fences
Black pepper	Cassava
Gourd	Gliricidia sp.
Passionfruit	Pineapple
Pumpkin
Yam
Plants to grow under a trellis
Most leafy plants
Some roots, e.g. sweet potato, taro

TABLE 8.2
Suggested layers of crops

Crops	Layer
Breadfruit	Upper or ceiling
Coconut
Oil-palm
Banana	Upper-middle
Cashew nut
Citrus
Drumstick tree
Guava
Plantain
Bitter leaf	Lower-middle
Cocoa
Coffee
Papaya
Pigeon pea
Cassava	Lower
Sugar cane
Taro
Groundnut	Ground
Pumpkin
Sweet potato
Vegetables
Chilli	Climbers
Oyster nut
Passionfruit
Pumpkin
Runner beans
Yam