Women, urban gardens, and local food security in Honiara

There were three discrete elements to the project. Firstly, satellite imagery was analysed remotely to get a better picture of productive space in the city. This involved GIS analysis of temperature and vegetation, including an examination of the health of vegetation. This was then supplemented by workshops, site visits, tok stori activities, and urban garden surveys in three case study informal settlements: Wind Valley, Jabros, and Ontong Java. Finally, training on best practice urban organic farming, led by Kastom Gaden Association (a local horticultural NGO), was carried out with these three communities, as well as two additional communities, Fishing Village and AekafoFeraladoa. High-level findings from the project indicate that vegetation health is being negatively impacted by development pressures, increasing temperatures, and problems like pests, and that further targeted interventions in the form of best practice training, seeds, equipment, and materials are needed to maintain the productivity of urban gardens in Honiara (both sup sup and bush) that are so critical for the health and well-being of local families.