Pakistan: “Home Kitchen gardening to crush hunger”.

Comment

Comment by Glenn Fletcher on November 22, 2009 at 12:18pm

Hi Salma
I am lucky in that my allotment is only a short bicycle ride from my house. Some people in larger cities like London have to travel to theirs in a car.
It is interesting to find out from you just how things are in your country. I think as the price of oil rises then more people in the world will turn to growing their own food, to supplement their income. Rising oil prices mean rising food prices.

Comment by Salma Kamal on November 22, 2009 at 10:01am

How times have changed. There was time when there was no food shortage and agriculture was not a profitable business. The poor farmer was having a hard time. After toiling in the field from dawn to dusk he failed to generate enough money to support his family. These poor farmers with small land holding left there agriculture land for better pays and better life in cities.
I agree with you Kathryn and Amna! Now the poor farmer living in rural area with small land holding is more comfortable off then their urban brothers.
I have observed that urban poor with rural background are resorting to kitchen gardening there days in whatever space they have Recently I visited an urban slums in out skirt of Islamabad where people have come mostly from rural areas.
They are living in government quarters with small yard.
I was delighted to see all men and children in yards busy in kitchen gardening on a sunny afternoon.

It is the urbanized poor with no rural experience who need support and training in-home Kitchen gardening.
Kathryn! Here the case is quite different. There is unstoppable population explosion which in spite of all out affords by government has not been curtail. Government encourages only 2 children but four to six children is average and some families have more then 10 children. I think this is directly related to literacy,
What’s the literacy rate in Turkey?

Comment by Salma Kamal on November 22, 2009 at 9:47am

Glenn!British allotment system is quite interesting. It should be initiated here in Pakistan.
Is this alloted land close to your home?
I mean you have to travel to your home kitchen garden to fetch your vegetables ??

Comment by amna mufti on November 21, 2009 at 1:35pm

........So the story is that this land is under the unlawful use of big wigs.No body dares to touch them.As they are usually in govt.or are the relatives of those in power.That is why I was telling Salma,problem is not simple.It is so intricate,its not because we don't know.We know but "SOME"people don't want us to do.

Comment by amna mufti on November 21, 2009 at 1:29pm

Glenn! we also have the same allotment system.In which about 550 square feet ,(if I am not mistaken) or so is alloted to a family to grow fuel wood on it .Govt. only plants the trees and then the family looks it aftern grow what everthey want along with the trees.They can trim the trees and use the wood but the tree's main stem remains govt's property.I think this system was formulated by british government ,when they ruled this part of world.Along with this 25 acres of land wer given for the production of fodder for horses.It was called ghora pal muraba(Horse raising land many other such schemes are here also.But where all this land goes?This is another long story.Should I

Comment by Glenn Fletcher on November 21, 2009 at 5:21am

I believe the British allotment system was developed in the late 19th & early 20th centuries to feed the urban poor mainly in the north of the country. Areas of land in urban areas were owned by local government and small parcels [300 square yards] were rented out to families who did not have a garden. This allowed them to grow their own fruit and vegetables to supplement their meagre diet. It was written into law that these areas of land could not be built upon or used for other purposes. That was the original intention but eventually they have become more of a recreational activity. Nowadays though with rising food prices they are in demand again and their are long waiting lists.[My Allotment]

Comment by Kathryn on November 21, 2009 at 3:11am

I am not in Pakistan as you know but there are very many similarities. The populace is very poor with the basic wage being given to most and usually without health insurance included, even though that is illegal here. The basic wage is not enough to rent a home and enough food for even a small family. People in the villages are more fortunate as they have land and can grow nearly everything to meet thier needs and that of thier extended families. They dont have cash money but they have a home with large gardens to meet these needs. When people here do work that is not always a guarantee that they will be given thier wage, it is shocking but the men do not always take thier wage or they are given only a portion. This results in families not even being able to have electricity and water let alone pay thier rent. I agree with Amna it is the urban poor that are suffering the most and whos position is very precarious. The Turkish government want every family to have at least 3 children to keep up the population levels. The government has said if a family does not take 2500 lira a month they are in poverty, but the average national wage is 666 lira, how do they expect that to happen. Even doctors only take 1200lira a month. Most turks if they have a small yard or garden will grow something but the population are now mostly in apartments so that is unrealistic. Larger companies buying the land which means soon there may be no spare land for anyone.

Comment by amna mufti on November 20, 2009 at 12:57pm

Labor is going to foreign countries since ages.In medieval times warriors were required, they left their homes and now you can see many races spread all over the world.In past decades they were called in western and middle eastern countries,its a natural flow of population.But what we are concerned about is hunger related to poverty.Why they need to buy their own food when they can grow it as the climate is favorable?It is may be now a lack of proper training.But their past generation knew very well how to grow.Still they get some land along with their pay and grow pulses ,vegetable and fodder for their animals.The vulnerable part of population is as far as I believe urban poor population.If they get this idea of growing their own food it can be a change.Once one of my fellow writers wrote a very simple story on this problem.In the end the lower middle class characters of this story got the idea to grow food on their vacant plot where they were intended to build a house but lacked the funds.This patch provided them food, a good place to spend their weekends and loads of vegetable to share with their neighbors to lessen many problems.I think this sort of ideas can work for us.

Comment by Salma Kamal on November 20, 2009 at 12:33pm

Dear Amna! Get ready for much bigger population flow.In past it used to be skilled and semi skilled workers,but now workers with agriculture back ground are in great demand.I recently read an advertisment in news paper ,an overseas recruiters agency advertising for manpower from punjab with strong agriculture background in agriculture,farming and machinery operation.They are hiring for some Maga Agriculture projects in Africa.
So this time people from rural cities will not be leaving for big cities but there destination will be Africa .That reminds me of another exodus to african from sub continent in bigining of 1900 century to build rail roads.

Comment by Muhammad Nadeem Iqbal on November 20, 2009 at 12:30pm

This is what we need::::: “Nation Building through Self Reliance”
WHAT IS NATION BUILDING THROUGH SELF RELIANCE???
It is a bouquet of Attainable, Retainable and Sustainable initiatives and projects,
addressing Best Improvement Practices in all walks of life providing Innovative Communication Approach
based on Behavioral Change Communication Strategies and Doable & Affordable Solutions & Projects with practical demonstration through successful models those are easily adoptable on community level.

I envision a Self-reliant Pakistan where people are empowered with the freedom to create their own destiny through informed choices.

The mission of the “Nation Building through Self Reliance” initiative is to Inform, Connect and Empower people by providing them
Information and Access to Services & Public Programs related to Poverty & Hunger, Food Security, Environment, Health, Education, Civic Participation, Energy Efficiency, Cultural Enrichment, and the Arts

I aspire to contribute to “Collective Self-Reliance” in the underserved populations that we work with, and I believe strongly in the Power of Community

By Intelligent use of Mass Media, Community Outreach, and other
Multi-directional Communication Channels, we seek to inspire communities to exercise their collective power as a force for positive transformation.

STOP LOOKING AT DONATIONS, LOANS AND HELP IN THE NAME OF ASSISTANCE.... THIS WILL NOT BRING ANY MEANINGFUL CHANGE.

TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE LORD MACAULAY'S STRATEGY.... It;s high time that we say good bye to Lord Macaulay AND IT'S CHILDREN.

SALMA SAHIBA AND AMNA MUFTIS SAHIBA..... Tell me if I am wrong... and if you agree then lets join hands.

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