| A Regular Income
Islamic Relief has been working in Niger since the food crisis in 2005, setting up therapeutic feeding centres and schools, digging wells and helping people to earn a living.
Malnutrition can be caused by lack of food or by eating only one type of food. In Niger some people can only afford an exclusive diet of sorghum or millet. This results in a lack of essential vitamins. Islamic Relief’s gardening project encourages people to grow a variety of fruit and vegetables. This helps to ensure that they have nutritious food and a more balanced diet.
Mayou from Simiri village in Tillaberi is one of the women who has benefited from our gardening project.
Although the land around Simiri is fairly fertile, people cannot afford the start-up costs to grow crops and vegetables. Mayou belongs to a gardening group that has received tools, seeds and fertiliser from Islamic Relief. The group was trained in harvesting, increasing crop yields and food processing.
Mayou also received equipment to dry and preserve her crops. Preservation helps her to avoid waste from spoiled produce, so that she can sell more of what she grows.
Islamic Relief has also provided women in Simiri with small hand mills. They no longer spend hours grinding corn and have more time to work on their land and cultivate crops.
“I grow peppers, tomatoes and onions on my land. The traders come from Niamey in their vans and I sell them my vegetables from under that tree. This way I know that I will always have someone to buy my vegetables,” said Mayou.
She uses the income to buy additional food for the family and healthcare for her grandchildren. It also pays for family occasions such as weddings, naming ceremonies and funerals.
“Before I started gardening I used to make traditional mats and I also used to do the special knots on women’s hair to braid it. But selling my vegetables means I can make more money.”
The gardening project helps villagers in Simiri to tackle some of the causes of malnutrition and grow enough food to feed their families and make a living.
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