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Food Security in Women’s House
59. Landscape Design
Food Security in Women’s House
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Senegal is one of the least developed countries globally, with 47% of the population living under the national poverty line (Climate-Smart Agriculture, 2016, p. 4). Rural households suffer more food insecurity compared to urban households. It is essential to develop local programs that sustainably increase food availability and improve health. Home gardens have been documented as an essential supplemental nutrition source that contributes to greater food security and increased livelihoods (Dilrukshi Hashini Galhena, 2013). They stand as an efficicnet source of both food and income to the women. Home gardening contributes to food security by providing direct access to food that can be harvested and prepared (R.Marsh, 1998). The availability of enhanced quantity fresh foods improves nutrition and overall health. Home gardening has been identified as a means of providing year-round access to food for rural households. (Musotsi, 2008). Moreover, funding for the landscape is circular, whereby the NGO provides financial support for initial development, and selling the yields generates the money for maintenance and expansion. This provides economic stability and a self-reliant community.
60. Landscape Design
Some essential plants that can be grown at the Women’s House include• Vegetables: Sweet Potato, Okra, African Eggplant (Nutri. Val-30 cal), Pumpkin, long beans, tomatoes (Nutri. Val-26 cal), bissap (Nutri.Val-31cal), cassava • Fruits: Papaya, mango, guava, banana.
Employing climate-smart practices and creating a balanced ecosystem are two important considerations in planning home gardens in the project. A permaculture garden design emphasises the relationships built among the elements based on how they are put together to form a system as a whole to maximize their benefits. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Permaculture design aims to minimize waste, human labour, and energy input by building systems. (Caldwell, 2012). The Mandala Garden is a popular permaculture design approach because it increases planting space and creatins space-efficient paths that allow greater reach to more crops from one spot (Engels, 2017). Furthermore, Mandala gardens provide plenty of visual appeal and delicious produce (Waddington, 2020).
Figure 30. Essential plants that can be planed and growth at the Women's House (left); Possible stewing method for on-site food harvesting (Joshi, 2019)
