In Tajikistan, Food Diversity Yields Good Dividends

Standing above her greenhouse, Sayohat Hakimova proudly shows off her onions, cilantro, and dill. This year, in her family’s first greenhouse, she was able to plant these greens two months earlier than usual. A 36-year old mother of four and the head of her household, Sayohat is a beneficiary of canning and greenhouse training under Feed the Future.

Her family lives on approximately $100 per month, growing their primary food sources of wheat, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, beets, and turnips. While their small orchard of fruit trees allows them to enjoy greater food diversity during the summer, in the winter the family is limited to consuming non-perishable goods that they have preserved during the summer and fall. They don’t have enough income to purchase preserved food at the market.

With assistance and training from Feed the Future, Sayohat and her family worked together at the end of winter to construct a greenhouse that works well in the region’s windy conditions and learned to preserve a greater variety of produce that they can use next winter or trade with their neighbors. Sayohat has plans to preserve apricots, cherries, onions, and jam. Her family’s success has been a model for the community, which intends to replicate the design of greenhouse among more families.