What are home gardens?

Home gardens are agro-ecosystems located close tothe area that serves as a permanent or temporary resi-dence. Within a very small area one can find a combi-nation of trees, shrubs, vegetables, root crops, grassesand herbs that provide food, spices, medicines andconstruction materials. Domestic animals are oftenintegrated into the system too.

The produce from these gardens not only securesfood and income; it will often have an important cultur-al significance too. For example, indigenous communi-ties in the Amazon Basin use the red seeds of Bixa orellana as a body paint at traditional festivities, or thepsychoactive Brugmansia sp., or Angels’ trumpet, forshamanistic rituals.

Home gardens undergo a constant developmentprocess, since the composition and use of cropschanges according to the circumstances and needs ofthe gardeners. Material acquired by means of barter willbe tried out, or efforts will be made to domesticate wildplants. Conserving horticultural crops in cultivation (insitu) – as opposed to conserving them in gene banks (exsitu) – has the advantage that varieties are constantlycontinuing to develop. This means that new utility val-ues of plants may emerge as a result of evolutionaryadaptation.

Anything but wallflowersFor centuries, small farmers and indigenous communitieshave developed and conserved a great variety of cropplants. Adapted to their location, climate and cultivationpractices, traditional horticultural crops provide a yield andan income throughout the year, even without external agri-cultural inputs. In developing countries, they thereforemake a major contribution to the food supply and tosecuring the livelihood of the population.

At the same time, continuing use of crop plants,passed down from one generation to the next, makeshome gardens important sites for conserving plant geneticresources and sustaining a vibrant diversity.

In most cases, women determine what plants aregrown in the home garden, because in many societies theyare mainly responsible for food and healthcare within thefamily. In terms of choice of species and varieties, the pri-orities they set are often different from men’s, and in theirsmall, highly productive, but often largely disregarded gar-dens, they cultivate the plants they need for culinary, medicinal or cultural purposes, or for the market. They ex-periment with species and varieties and develop them further. The women preserve knowledge about cultivationpractices that are suited to the local environment, aboutlocal species and how they are prepared for use in tradi-tional dishes or for other purposes. In many countries,therefore, women are the custodians of agricultural bio-logical diversity.

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Home gardens – treasure troves of diversity

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In Viet Nam, for example, where there is a long tradition ofhome gardens, IPGRI conducted a survey of 100 different homegardens in conjunction with national institutions. The outcomedemonstrated just how productive home gardens can be. Somehouseholds derive as much as 50– 60% of their income from thesale of garden produce. On these plots, averaging around aquarter of a hectare in size, a total of 646 plant species andvarieties were identified. Key species, represented by a broadrange of varieties, included banana (Musa sp.), jackfruit (Artocar-pus sp.), papaya (Carica sp.), longan (Dimocarpus sp.), cassava(Manihot sp.), taro (Colocasia sp.) and sweet potato (Ipomoeasp.).

Since the 1970s, state-promoted structural change in theagricultural sector and resettlement measures have broughtabout a sharp decline in traditional agro-ecosystems in VietNam. Many crop plant varieties have been lost as a result. TheIPGRI study enhanced our understanding of the complementarynature of in situ and ex situ conservation, with the result thatstate development activities are now specifically aimed at pro-moting sustainable use of home gardens with agroforestryapproaches in Viet Nam.

Cuba provides us with another example: the IPGRI studyproves that home gardens are well suited to protected areas, be-cause they make a major contribution to conserving biodiversi-ty. Cuba increasingly views home gardens as a key componentof its national in situ conservation efforts and supports the inclu-sion of agroforestry-based home gardening activities in themanagement of protected forest areas and their buffer zones. InCuba’s national programme for protected areas (“Man and theBiosphere Reserves”) and ecological reserves, products fromhome gardens are being promoted explicitly as a local source ofincome.

Greater diversity – higher incomeIn the context of a research project funded by the German Fed-eral Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ),the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) con-ducted a study involving five countries to assess the role ofhome gardens in terms of conserving plant genetic resources.Another objective of the study was to examine whether promot-ing horticultural diversity has a positive impact on sustainabledevelopment. The results were conclusive: the greater thediversity in the home garden, the better the food and incomesituation of the households. At the same time, the study em-phasized the key role played by rural communities in terms ofconserving agrobiodiversity.

On the basis of the results of the country studies, home gar-dens were categorized according to agro-ecological zones andthe types of vegetation present. This has provided a frameworkthat can now be used by other countries. The findings of theIPGRI study have already been used in a number of nationalprogrammes aimed at conserving plant genetic resources.

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Sweet potato species

Achote (Bixa orellana)

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Two Shuar women standingnext to an Xanthosoma sp.

Araceae ripe for cutting

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Beyond the garden fenceWhether farmers (of either gender)maintain traditional cultivation prac-tices and broad genetic diversity de-pends largely on the conditions in thecountry concerned. Is there an infra-structure and access to markets?What sort of land rights and laws arein place? What is promoted under thenational agricultural policy? These arequestions that have to be addressed ifhome gardens are to be promoted in asustainable way.

The socio-cultural environment,too, has considerable influence onwhat is grown in home gardens. If living and eating habitschange, for example, this can hardly fail to have an impact onthe home garden. A change in lifestyle always has a direct effecton the genetic diversity of both plants and animals used inhorticulture or agriculture. Cultural losses in indigenous commu-nities always go hand in hand with a loss of agrobiodiversity.

In order to counteract progressive genetic erosion, moreattention must be devoted to home gardens in future. Theyshould be included specifically in international and national rulesand action plans. Furthermore, the significance of traditionalknowledge and practices for the protection and sustainable useof biological diversity must be acknowledged. This includes en-suring that the local population and indigenous communitieshave long-term access to the genetic resources developed bythem – despite increasing calls at international level for intellec-tual property rights for new varieties of plants.

Home gardens – treasure troves of diversityHome gardens – treasure troves of diversity

Further promotion measures include:

● Better access to land (title deeds)

● Technical support for local communities, e.g. inobtaining, exchanging and further developing seedsand planting material

● Identifying new products and markets. This could create incentives for sustaining homegardens and their diversity.

● Promoting home gardens in zones on the fringes ofprotected areas, among other things to compensatefor restrictions relating to protected areas

● Introducing agrobiodiversity monitoring

● Participation of farmers and indigenous communitiesin the process of developing policy and scientific programmes

● Promoting research projects relating to biodiversity in home gardens

● Promoting the transfer of knowledge amongcommunities and between communities and research institutions

● Awareness-raising and sensitization of the populationand policy makers

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Two birds with one stone On the one hand, home gardens are an important componentof national strategies for sustaining agrobiodiversity. On theother, at local level, they contribute to securing livelihoods andincomes. Both these aspects should be reinforced in the con-text of development cooperation. In doing so, it is important toensure that indigenous communities and local municipalitiesare actively involved in planning, executing and evaluatingmeasures and programmes of this sort and that they are em-powered to represent their interests themselves.

Home gardens can make a significant contribution to thein situ conservation of plant genetic resources. Efforts to pro-mote this form of cultivation are still in their infancy, but thereare already some encouraging examples. In Guatemala, forexample, promoting diversity in home gardens is part of abroad-ranging municipal development strategy. In Ghana,public interest in agricultural diversity grew when new incomeopportunities were created through the sale of traditionalfoods. Home gardens are ideally suited to raising publicawareness of the significance of diversity in the agriculturaland horticultural context as part of cultural heritage.

IImmpprriinnttDeutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbHSector project “People and Biodiversity in Rural Areas” (Unit 4411)Postfach 5180, 65726 Eschborn, GermanyText: Sylvia ReinhardtEditor: Yvonne MabilleLayout: Astrid Ostrowicki, Media Company Berlin

Contact: Annette von Lossau, Dr. Rolf Macke-mail: annette.lossau-von@gtz.dehomepage: http://www.gtz.de

Further information

Buko Agrar Koordination, 2002: Biologische Vielfalt undErnährungssicherung. Buko Agrar Dossier 25. Hamburg.

Flora Tristán (2002): “Mujeres y Biodiversidad: Asegurando elFuturo”, Video producido por el Centro de la Mujer Peruana“Flora Tristán” – Programa de Desarrollo Rural. Lima, Peru.

Flora Tristán (2004): Gender and biodiversity. Ayacucho andSan Martín. Lima, Peru. (in press)

GTZ (2002): The Convention on Biological Diversity: EnsuringGender-Sensitive Implementation. Eschborn, Germany.

Hodel, U. & Gessler, M., 1999: : In situ conservation of plantgenetic resources in home gardens of southern Vietnam. A report of home garden surveys in southern Vietnam,December 1996 – May 1997. IPGRI, Rome.

Howard P. L., 2003: Women and plants. Gender Relations inBiodiversity Management & Conservation. ZED, London.

Watson, J. W. & Eyzaguirre, P. B., 2002: Home gardens andin situ conservation of plant genetic resources in farmingsystems. Proceedings of the Second International HomeGardens Workshop, 17–19 July 2001, Witzenhausen. IPGRI, Rome.

www.ipgri.org/themes/human/Articles/CBDCaseStudy.doc

www.gtz.de/agrobiodiv/referenz/referenz.html

GTZ was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry forEconomic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to implementthe Sector Project “People and Biodiversity in Rural Areas”.

The document is a working paper. We will improve it in a step-by-step process, building upon your comments and experience.

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Shuar woman harvestingmanioc in her home gar-den, Ecuador

Home gardens – treasure troves of diversityHome gardens – treasure troves of diversity

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