Nutrition Gardening and HIV management

Throughout Africa, the number of people suffering from HIV/AIDS is increasing and international donors are focussing assistance to developing countries in alleviating the devastating impact of this illness on their people and economies. Prevention of infection by this killer disease is as easy as it is 'difficult' - don't have sex without a condom or know the HIV status of your partner and yourself and either wear a condom or be faithful. Sadly life is not so simple.

The number of people becoming infected increases daily, including the innocent small children and babies who have no say in the matter. However, becoming HIV-positive does not mean that life is not worth living or that death by AIDS is inevitable. A positive approach to nutrition and health will reduce the risk of AIDS developing. 

Research has identified the minerals and vitamins which actively enhance the immune system and which fruit and vegetables will provide the highest levels of these in the diet. All horticultural units have enough spare land to provide space for a Nutrition garden to grow these specialist vegetables and fruit. Many farms also have a canteen and could utilise the Nutrition Kitchen garden to ensure that staff increased their intake of these essential minerals and vitamins and thereby promote health.

Real Impact Kichozi Farm's 'Nutrition Garden'

In June 2006, Real Impact began work on developing a 'Nutrition Garden' to provide nutritional food for the farm canteen in order to boost the health of workers. Crops chosen were those known to be rich in specific vitamins and minerals, known to support the immune system, particularly for those suffering from HIV.

The farm canteen chef uses all fresh produce from the Nutrition Garden to create appetising meals, which have become a familiar and enjoyable menu for staff, who have now overcome their reluctance to  change their eating habits, eating less sugar and carbohydrate (ugali is only served once every 14 days) and a now eat a very wide range of more than twenty different vegetables.

The planting programme was designed to produce enough food for 100 staff to have at least 70% of the RDI of all important nutrition elements in one meal at lunchtime. The menus were designed by Applied Nutritionist, Jill Cooney, on sabbatical from her normal work as a lecturer at a technical college in Australia. Funding from USAID has enabled a Nutrition Garden Cook Book to be written which details recipes and menus with controlled portion sizes for children or adults using vegetables from the Nutrition Garden.

A 7-day easy beginners menu and planting programme starts novice nutrition gardeners off on the road to delivering healthy meals. An advanced 14-day repeating menu is more suitable for experienced growers and chefs. The crop production and crop protection programmes are based on sound organic principles and employ biological, physical and cultural controls. Compatible, least toxic pesticides are only used if necessary and only as spot treatments. Liquid fertilisers are made from the leachate produced by worms in a vermi-culture unit. Conventional compost is made from crop waste to re-cycle nutrients and organic matter into the soil.

USAID support and dissemination

Real Impact's initiatives have been supported by the USAID KHCP programme run by Fintrac Inc. The donor-funded programme will publish a Nutrition Cook Book, Garden Manual on how to grow, protect, harvest and store the produce grown. For copies of this Cook Book and Grower Manual contact programmes@ realimpact.or.ke

The Real Impact Nutrition Garden is a Farmers’ Field School were companies wishing to adopt this programme can learn how to do this both in the field and in the kitchen.

Business interests

Guidance on self-help for HIV Positive staff is of direct benefit to employers and industry as it promotes a positive attitude to the future in staff and can help alleviate the financial impact of HIV/AIDS on businesses such as:

. Decline in labour productivity / efficiency

. Increased cost of health care for staff

. Increased sick leave and sickness benefit payments

. Absenteeism

. Premature death

Real Impact offers the following training courses of value to industry:

. Introduction to Positive Health Programme

. Design and management of Nutrition Gardens

. Design and management of nutritionally balanced menus for farm canteens

Open days for Human Resource managers for large companies as well as managers of hospitals and schools are provided to stimulate interest in the benefits of Nutrition Gardens and kitchens using their output.