Sinsibere project

Gardening

An important activity carried out by the women within the Sinsibere project is gardening. The gardening activities are ongoing in the villages of Tafele and Karako. In Tafele the women originally had a parcel of 5000 m², which was later expanded to one hectare. In Karako the garden consists of three hectares of cultivable land. The major challenge of gardening is watering, that is why in Tafele wells have been constructed with the assistance of the Japanese AEON foundation and the Finnish NGO Dodo. In Karako the biggest bore hole has been constructed with the assistance of Islamic Relief.

The women have used Sinsibere loans for buying seeds to grow the crops of their choice. The most common crops they cultivate are onion, peppers, tomato, cucumber, manioc and cabbage. Women sell these vegetables on the local market and use them to their private needs for the diversification of their families’ nutrition. The gardening activity has enabled the women to decrease wood cutting significantly. It has also empowered them by giving them new skills and motivation.

The investments needed for gardening are quite high for women to do alone but it has proven to be one of the most successful activities for abandoning the wood commerce and switching to more sustainable livelihoods. Gardening has also assisted considerably in maintaining the food security during the difficult periods.

Besides gardening, the women of the Sinsibere cooperative are also growing ground nuts during the rainy season in their collective fields.

Pictures of planting onions in Tafele (click to enlarge):