Stories From The Field: Food Security
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How Anastasia’s Garden Transformed Her Family’s Future

Meet Anastasia For millions around the world, including women like Anastasia from the Kanyabukungu Batwa group in Uganda, “food security” is an elusive concept. Anastasia, an 80-year-old widow, has spent years navigating the harsh realities of food insecurity. Caring for 14 family members, her children and grandchildren, she has been carrying the heavy burden of providing for them all. Many nights, there was no food, and she and her family went to bed on empty stomachs. To survive, Anastasia and

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Gloria Mushabe Receives Prestigious FAO Global Farmer Field Schools Innovation Award

Celebrating DIG’s Transformative Work with the Batwa Community in Uganda In a significant moment for Development in Gardening (DIG), Gloria Mushabe, our Executive Director in Uganda, was honored as a laureate of the FAO’s inaugural Global Farmer Field Schools Innovation Award. Gloria, a well-deserved recipient, has been a driving force behind DIG’s work in Uganda since 2018. Her deep knowledge of agroecology and unwavering commitment to community-led development have enabled DIG to effectively reach some of the most marginalized communities

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DIG’s Farmer Field School

DIG's foundational program prioritizes uniquely marginalized people. They learn to grow nutrient-rich gardens using regenerative agriculture as a way of improving theirs and their family's nutrition, food security, and income.

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Growing More Resilient Local Food Systems

When the pandemic shut down markets and restaurants, DIG farmers like Fernard and Cecile were prepared to fill in the gaps. Their gardens were no longer just reliable sources of food for their families, they became a critical resource for their entire community.

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A Milestone to Celebrate ~ DIG Reaches 50% of all Batwa in Uganda

Building trust, confidence, and hope is key to our program’s success; and no where is that more important than with the culturally displaced Batwa of southwest Uganda. DIG has made a long-term commitment to this uniquely marginalized community. The Batwa have experienced terrible poverty and poor health since their eviction from their ancestral lands in the early 1990s. (Read more about DIG’s work with the Batwa here.) After four years of engagement, DIG is celebrating having reached half the Batwa

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Serving the Most Vulnerable in Uganda

DIG prioritizes uniquely vulnerable populations that are often left out of other development opportunities. The Batwa, and People Living with Disability in Uganda are some of the most vulnerable groups we serve. See how we've adapted our program to restore health, wealth, and a sense of belonging.

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Transitioning field schools to safe, socially distanced learning environments using the FAO’s Farmer Field School COVID Recommendations

In the Casamance region of Senegal, lies the second biggest city, Ziguinchor. Plagued with arid soils and an inescapably long dry season, the region largely relies on an import-based food system for a majority of their needs, including fruits and vegetables. With COVID-19 disrupting critical food distribution systems, DIG’s farmer field school network has been ramping up production to fill in the gaps. In 2019, Development in Gardening, with support from Rise Against Hunger, The University of Washington Senegal Research

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Finding ways to limit post-harvest loss during COVID

The immediate effects of COVID-19 on food security and nutrition in Kenya cannot be under estimated. The restrictions in movement, closure of hotels and schools which act as a market for many farmers, and lack of supply for farm inputs pose a critical challenge to almost every farmer. The effect is much more devastating to low income households and communities that already face serious challenges such as HIV, drought or flooding and poor access to essential services. DIG’s program that

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Maureen Oboch – Orange Sweet Potato Entrepreneur

“DIG brought me up from a level no one else would have done, I leant a number of techniques that have enables me to succeed even in other projects, I have done all these because DIG opened my potential in farming, DIG connected me to Ministry of Agriculture and I got connected further to CIP. For sure my life has improved beyond what anyone expected.” – Maureen Oboch Maureen Oboch first joined DIG’s program back in 2016. She is from

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