After the Tsunami: Restoring Home Gardens

1 Series on Best Practice Guidelines (Sri Lanka) After the Tsunami: Restoring home gardens

Information Paper No. 13

The issue

In the aftermath of a natural disaster, ensuring a proper nutritional balance in food intake becomes important. In many households affected by the tsunami, traditional gruels and curries made from herbs and trees from home gardens provided a variety of vitamins and other nutrients. However, many of these home gardens have been affected by the tsunami. • The intrusion of salt water destroyed the production capacity of most home gardens. • Food plants in home gardens were destroyed. • There is no accessible source of these traditional foods in refugee caps or in returnee households. • With this lack of accessibility from regular food sources, there is a risk that people may become malnourished. • Home gardens provided income for women, who tended them.

The impact

Displaced persons returning from camps to re-build their homes are left with home gardens with poor production capacities and the additional burden of purchasing nutritional supplements from outside sources.

The need

There is thus an urgent need to restore the productivity of home gardens with a unique mix and diversity of species. There is also a concomitant need to identify and restore soils that have been contaminated by salt water intrusion and ensure their recovery.

Guiding principles

• Identify affected soils. • Identify an effective suite of plants to restore nutritional security in affected households. • Identify an effective suite of plants to restore ecological functionality. • Encourage rapid restoration programmes for home gardens as a source of subsistence and livelihoods restoration. • Encourage the use of natural fertilisers in the restoration of home gardens.

Conserving Ecosystems to Strengthen Livelihoods 2 Key steps to be taken

• Assess the growing capacity of soils before attempting home garden restoration. (See Box 1 for details.) • If soil is salinised or otherwise affected, then proceed with soil restoration. (See Box 2 for details). • Develop a list of utility plants that are fast growing and that provide a good mix. (See Box 3 for complete details of suitable species.) Seedlings are available with RRI. (See Box 5 for contact details.)

Suitable trees species:

m Murunga (Moringa olifera), which has leaves of high nutritive value as well as pods that are edible. It grows fast in salinated soil and helps to reduce soil salinity.

m Katuru Murunga (Sesbania grandiflora) is a very fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing species that breaks up the soil and makes a good texture for agriculture. It also has edible leaves and flowers.

m Papaya (Carica papaya) will withstand some salt breeze, grows rapidly and provides valuable fruits.

m Karapincha /Curry Leaves (Murraya koengii) is a flavour giver and has many medicinal properties. Its roots encourage soil growth.

m Lime or Lemon (Citrus spp.) is indispensable in cooking, provides a rich source of vitamin C and has valuable medicinal properties.

Suitable herbaceous plants:

m GotuKola (Centella asiatica), Spinach (Bassela alba), Kang Kung (Ipomoea aquatica), are all easily grown vegetables that provide a dark green leafy dietary input. They are used in Mallungs (leaf salad) and Kola Kenda (porridge) and form a very important part of the daily nutritional intake. They are also creeping plants that cover the soil and prevent erosion.

m Lemon Grass (Sera) (Cympogon citratus) and Pandanus (Rampe) (Pandanus odorotissimus) are herbs, which provide the flavours that are appreciated in traditional cooking. These plants are fairly long- living and maintain the soil in good condition. These plants begin the process of restoring the soil as well as providing essential nutrition to families. They also provide the focus around which other horticultural activities can begin. Restoring and tending the home garden may also provide a source of comfort and healing for the mind as well as the body. • Develop effective methods of integrating the plant stock into households and transit camps.

Box 1: A simple test to determine the growing capacity of the soil (Developed by Rainforest Rescue International (RRI))

• Take two containers of equal size. • Ensure that there is adequate drainage. • Fill each with an equal quantity of soil. One with tsunami affected soil that needs testing and one with good farmyard soil from a farm, unaffected by the tsunami. • Place 10 seeds of Mung Bean or Green Gram or 20 mustard seeds in each container. • Water and place in a sunny spot. • After one week, observe the growth of plants. (Observe both germination and the colour and health of seedlings that grow). • If growth in both containers is about equal, begin farming. • If growth is affected, then it is very likely that the soil has been affected by the tsunami. If so, begin soil restoration (See box 2).

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Box 2: Restoring affected soils.

If the soil tested (See Box 1) is found to be affected by salinisation, then one of two paths may be followed. 1. Allow for natural regeneration. The speed at which the original ecosystem recovers will depend on the level of rainfall washing and leaching, assisted by vegetation growth. In cases where the salinisation is heavy in slow draining soils natural regeneration will be slow. Often exotic species may invade the disturbed habitat. If these species are known to be invasive species such as Prosopis and Opuntia, they should be eradicated. or 2. Assist in regeneration. This can range from the removal of exotic species to building up farmyard and home garden soils. As the soil ecosystem has been affected a primary goal is its restoration. This is best effected by using plants that assist in the restoration of the soil ecosystem. See Box 4 for a list of species that assist in such restoration. Also, household crops can be grown in raised beds. These are formed by placing a rectangle defined by planks, bamboos or similar barrier to a height of about eight inches and filling the rectangle with good soil or compost. Because the bed is above the affected soil, it will grow crops effectively. While the crops are growing in the raised beds, the transfer of plant waste and microorganisms into the soils below will assist in the recovery process. Plants could also be grown in sacks that have been filled with good soil and compost. Various plants can be planted in slits made at different levels and fed with waterthrough an inserted bamboo.

Box 3: Potential Plants for tsunami affected Home Gardens, developed by Rainforest Rescue International (RRI)

Common name Sinhala name Tamil name Scientific Name Remarks Gotukola Gotukola Vallarai Centella asiatica Leafy vegetable Papaya Gas labu/Papol Pappali Carica papaya Fruit Katurumurunga Akatti/ Agati-keerai Sesbania grandifolia Leafy vegetable + Nitrogen fixing Lime Dehi Thesikai Citrus aurantifolia Essence + Medicinal Horse radish tree Murunga Murungamaram Moringa oleifera Vegetable, Leafy vegetable + Live Fence Sweet Potato Bathala Vel-kelengu Ipomoea batatas Edible Yam Bird Pepper Kochchi Kochchi Capsicum frutescens Condiment Ginger Inguru Inji Zingiber officinale Medicinal Mukunuwenna Ponankani Alternanthera sessilis Leafy vegetable Sweet Orange Pani dodang Citrus sinensis Fruit Banana Kehel Valappalam Musa sp. Fruit Chaya Cnidoscolus chayamansa Leafy vegetable Coriander Koththamalli Koththamalli Corrindrum sativum Condiment Mustard Aba Kaduku Brassica juncea Condiment Bitter Gourd Karavila Pavakkai Momrodica charantia Vegetable Kankung Ponnankaani Ipomoea aquatica Leafy vegetable Spinach Nivithi Pasalai Basella alba Leafy vegetable Rampe Pandanus Condiment amaryllifolius Lemon Grass Sera Serai Cymbopogon citratus Condiment + Insect Repellent

Conserving Ecosystems to Strengthen Livelihoods 4

Box 3: Contd.

Common name Sinhala name Tamil name Scientific Name Remarks Curry Leaves Karapincha Karivempu Murraya koenigii Essence + Medicinal Passion Fruit Vel dodang Passiflora edulis Fruit + Leafy vegetable Pomegranate Delum Madalai/ Punica granatum Fruit Madalunkai Grape Jasmine Watu-sudda Nandi-battai Tabernaemontana Flower used for divaricata religious activities

Box 4: Plants that assist in soil restoration developed by Rainforest Rescue International (RRI)

Sinhala name Tamil name Scientific name Benefit to soil Katurumurunga Akatti/ Agati-keerai Sesbania grandiflora Adds organic nitrogen to the soil. Murunga Murungamaram Moringa olifera Adds soil colloids. Papol Pappali Carica papaya Breaks up the salt aggregated soils. Karapincha Karivempu Murraya koengii Encourages growth of soil macr organisms. Kangkung Ipomoea aquatica Helps reduce the soil toxicity, especially in swampy situations. Lunuwila Bacopa monierii Helps reduce the soil toxicity, especially in swampy situations.

Box 5: For more information contact

• Rainforest Rescue International (RRI): Mr Hiran Tillekaratne, Programme Manager, P.O. Box 119, Galle, Sri Lanka. Tel 091-2232585 [email protected] • Counterpart International: Dr. R. Senanayake, Alverstone, Upper Lake Rd. Nuwara Eliya. Tel 052-222485 [email protected] • People’s Association for Community Education (PEACE),Teserapura, Katuneriya Mr Sarath Chandra Fernando, Tel: 0777656036 • The Central Environmental Authority, Director General, CEA Parisa Piyasa, Robert Gunawardena Mawatha, Batttaramulla Tel: 0 11 2872278. • The Forest Department, Mr. Anura Sathurusinghe, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Sampathpaya, Rajamalwatte Road, Battaramulla. Tel: 0 11 2866631/2. • The Department of Wildlife Conservation, Mr. H. D. Ratnayake, Deputy Director Research, 18, Gregory’s Road, Colombo 7 Tel: 0 11 2678748 • The Coast Conservation Department, Ms Panchali Fernando, Legal Office, Coast Conservation Department, 5thFloor, Maligawatte Secretariat, Colombo 10, Tel: 0 11 2472623 • IUCN – The World Conservation Union, Mr L. P. D Dayananda, 53, Horton Place, Colombo 7. Tel: 0 11 2694094 / 0 11 2682418 ext 305 E mail: [email protected]

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Links to other IUCN Best Practice Guidelines:

After the Tsunami: Where to reconstruct. Environmental concerns. Information paper no. 1 After the Tsunami: Dealing with Invasive Alien Species Information paper no. 2 After the Tsunami: Materials for reconstruction, Information paper 3. After the Tsunami: Beach and Reef clean ups, Information paper 4. After the Tsunami: Solid Waste Management, Information paper 5. After the Tsunami: Recovery of Marine Ecosystems Information paper 6 After the Tsunami: Restoring tourism – environmental issues Information paper 7 After the Tsunami: Learning to deal with natural disasters Information paper 8 After the Tsunami: Knowing about environmental laws and policies Information paper 9 After the Tsunami: Restoring Terrestrial ecosystems. Information paper 10 After the Tsunami: Water Pollution Information paper 11 After the Tsunami: Restoring Wetland Ecosystems Information paper 12 IUCN information paper – Recovering from the Indian Ocean tsunami – guidance for ecosystem rehabilitation, incorporating livelihoods concerns. http://www.iucn.org/info_and_news/press/tsunami-guidance-info.pdf

Conserving Ecosystems to Strengthen Livelihoods