Home
Articles
Sustainable News
Bio-intensive Gardening Cuts Malnutrition
in the Philippines
In response to the 1984 economic crisis in the Philippines, the International
Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) developed a bio-intensive
gardening program in the Province of Negros Occidental to increase food
availability for Negros islanders.
Two years after bio-intensive gardening was introduced in 1986, the rate of
malnutrition had dropped from 40% to 25%.
Bio-intensive gardening aims to rebuild and maintain soil fertility through
nutrient cycling, diversified cropping and deep-bed preparation on
small-scale plots (200-500 sq. feet). Bio-intensive gardens contain a
diverse range of indigenous crops which minimizes the opportunities for
pest outbreaks and preserves indigenous seed varieties. Families with
these gardens can save cash that they would normally spend on food or
non-food essentials for the family. Bio-intensive gardens may also
produce enough food for families to sell the surplus and still meet
their own nutritional needs.
The implementation of bio-intensive gardening (BIG) in Negros Occidental
relied on four levels of training:
- IIRR trained 150 indigenous garden promoters in the bio-intensive technique.
- The promoters trained their neighbors.
- IIRR provided training to other local agencies interested in bio-intensive gardening.
- IIRR collaborated with the Department of Education, Culture and Sports
to train 1,120 school teachers in BIG techniques. The teachers then set up
demonstration gardens in 400 schools.
As a training aid for extensionists, IIRR developed a package of educational
materials containing slides, flash cards and brochures. The IIRR training
materials emphasize adaptation of the gardening technology to the ecological
zone and to cultural and economic conditions, rather than adoption of a
set of defined practises. The materials outline a basic approach, yet
describe three tillage options for garden beds: double-dig, deep dug and
raised bed. The training packet also contains a description of the
bio-intensive method and its potential for sustainability.
The"Bio-Intensive Approach to Small-Scale Household Food Production"
training manual is free.
-- From "How to Garden Bio-Intensively",
International Ag-Sieve, Volume VI, Number 1, 1993 (Urban Gardens),
the Rodale Institute. Back issues are available for US$3 per issue,
$1 each for more than six issues, the whole set of 36 issues for $35.
Now published in book form, includes articles on green manure, agro-forestry,
irrigation, biological pest control, erosion and more -- 26 assorted articles,
from 1989 to 1995.
From Rodale Institute Bookstore:
Click Here
to review.
International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR)
http://www.iirr.org/
Bio-intensive gardening: see Ecology Action
http://www.growbiointensive.org/
"How To Grow More Vegetables -- than you ever thought possible on less
land than you can imagine"
by John Jeavons, director, Ecology Action
|
Refer a Friend
to Garden Simply!
