Gardens

This week I read an article about how the government of Tonga is promoting gardens to be grown at people's homes. This is so that produce can be grown internally and families will not have to import the things they need. The extra food would also provide them with an extra source of income if they chose to sell it. As more people begin to grow gardens, the villages can become reliant on each other and stimulate the economy.

In order to promote garden growing, members of society can attend meetings where they learn about how to grow gardens efficiently. Meetings will also be held to simply raise awareness. People can then establish their own composting box and their own home organic garden. They are also promoting the planting and growth of different kinds of trees. This will also contribute to growth and to the health of the soil. Because so many things are grown in large agricultural plots, the soil of the islands is losing its nutrients rapidly. As it looses nutrients it becomes dry and crumbly, which is not conducive to healthy islands.

Besides all of this, cultivating traditional plants and trees will also be encouraged. This will help the people of Tonga to remember their roots and to appreciate the hard work they put into the plants. I think that all of this are great steps towards preserving and even recovering the economy and ecology of Tonga. When people are made aware of the importance of these steps, they usually make time to take them. And if they are educated on how to grow things efficiently, they do not have to waste time on their own struggling to grow vegetables and fruit. This applies almost perfectly to my project because I am hoping to raise awareness of the usefulness of things that can be grown at home and to also help understand what works and what does not. Unfortunately this effort is going on on Ha'apai, but if I can get in touch with them somehow, that would be very helpful.