Village Women Making Money from Homegrown Food
“Since I started planting vegetables in May 2014 in our yard, I haven’t spent money anymore to buy green vegetables. Instead, I earn at least IDR 100,000 (approximately USD $8) each month from the sale of those vegetables. And that amount hasn’t even included the money from the sales of chickens!”
Marselina Feo, a beneficiary of the Mondelez International-funded project in the island of West Timor, Indonesia, has to manage her household and raise their four children without the assistance of her husband who left to find work in another province. This has put her in a difficult financial state and she has had to borrow money from lenders and her neighbors or relatives just to buy vegetables for her children.
Starting in 2014, Marselina joined Helen Keller International’s-Homestead Food Production program where she learned how to use her family’s yard to plant vegetables. As a result of the training she received, Marselina doesn’t have to rely on loans anymore. “Even though my husband is not here, I can save around IDR 300,000 each month to buy food and other household needs. Thank you very much, [Helen Keller]!”
