rethinking how to be effective...

We sat back and thought about how we could best utilise the generous donations made by family, friends, friends of friends and complete strangers. Our premise that food will have a dual purpose; to feed families and give people the opportunity to earn an income, still stood strong in our belief as an effective way to contribute to the rebuild. 

Interestingly the theme of the rebuild here is "Build Back Better", and so from our research and local knowledge we found that there were a lot of donated seeds being distributed across the country. We also became aware that in some cases (not all), locals don't usually grow food from seed, they usually grow their daily food source from cuttings and seeded vegetables. That being said there is increasing local knowledge around growing food from seed - and often this is food that is not traditional, or a usual food dietary item. 

So we thought with the "Build Back Better" mantra that to increase the success rate of seeds becoming food that we (I  mean Wayne really!) would grow and distribute seedlings instead of distributing seeds.

Purchased packets of seeds from Vanuatu Agriculture Supplies.
The standard packet of seeds is about 95vatu (NZ$1.20) and supports an established company
to support the employment of  locals.

First batch of seeds included DWARF BEANS; BOK CHOY; TOMATO

                                   
     

We were both surprised at how well the seedlings grew, in some cases the seeds
germinated within days so we needed to get them in the ground quickly !