Vanyegisa wakes up early every morning to water, weed and harvest tomatoes, spinach, and maize that are intercropped on her portion of a community garden. She has was trained in crop husbandry practices and applies the recommended practices to get the most out of her garden, which is the only source of food for her family. A few years ago, Vanyegisa and the rest of the Ovatue and Ovatjimba tribal communities in their homes, and everything was going well. However, tribal tensions drove them into remote mountains of the Kunene region of Namibia, where they lived in hardship.

Local authorities found the more destitute families homeless, surviving on refuse, and in need of urgent assistance. The authorities relocated Vanyegisa and the rest of the community to Otjomuru, Otjikoyo, Ohayuua villages, and constructed houses for them.

In efforts to reduce the communities' dependence on relief and boost their food production capacity, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with funding from the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) supported the communities to set up a community garden at Otjimuru. The Organization provided fencing materials, and seeds for the communities and set up an irrigation system comprising of a borehole and 10 000-liter water tanks.

Some officials from the Ministry of Agriculture Water and Forestry (MAWF) that were at the frontline of assisting the communities were supported by FAO to undergo drought assessment training in Johannesburg, South Africa.

"The garden is now the principal source of food for the communities and has significantly reduced their dependence on drought relief," said Rebecca Namwandi, the Chief Development Officer for Marginalized Communities in the Office of the Vice President.

Women taking the lead

The project targeted women to receive basic crop production training because they are principally responsible for food production and preparation.

Vanyegisa Kazuu, a 63-year-old mother of eight, remembers the hardship that the community endured before the garden and irrigation system were set up saying, "We used to wait on the rain for everything, if it came, we would plant and if it didn't come we gave up."

Hondo Koviua, the Chief of Otjomuru village, is grateful for the support to establish the garden, saying, "Before this garden, times were hard for our community. But now, some families are surviving from it. I desire that we expand the garden and plant for more food, so we get more food to eat and sell.

Although farmers like Vanyegisa are now faced with a new challenge of the fall armyworm infestation that they are desperate to control, there is no doubt that the support by the project has boosted their efforts to produce food and fed themselves.

Next Steps and Way Forward

There is a need to establish a drip irrigation system that saves more water than the current system that the community uses. Because the community desires to expand their garden and enterprises, there is a need to train them in more agricultural skills.

"We also need to support the families that are located further away from Otjumuro also to establish community gardens. This will require fencing materials, seeds, and the basic gardening equipment to start," said Rebecca.