The Cook Islands Child Welfare Association (CICWA) has launched a new programme to promote healthy living and self-sufficiency among young families.

The “Vegetable Planting Evenings” initiative aims to educate and support families in growing their own vegetables for nutritious meals.

The programme, launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, kicked off last week in three locations: Te Au O Tonga – Ruatonga Child Welfare Clinic, Puaikura – Kavera Child Welfare Clinic, and Takitumu – Matavera Child Welfare Clinic.

Both CICWA and the Ministry of Agriculture hope to instill a lifelong love for gardening in these young families.

The ministry led the seedling-raising programme, providing participants with instructions on sowing seeds and managing them afterwards. Parents, grandparents, and children all participated in preparing the seedling beds and planting pak choi, cucumber, and capsicum seeds.

The ministry will care for the seedlings until they are ready for transplanting around March 19th. They will then return to each clinic to distribute the seedlings and continue the workshops.

“We want to get young families and their kids involved to start their own vegetable patch and to eat healthy food,” said Susan Sadaraka, CICWA executive officer. “We aim to equip young families with the knowledge, resources and encouragement needed to cultivate their own home gardens.”

“We believe that our combined efforts can contribute significantly to the well-being of our community, particularly focusing on young families with children aged 0-4 years.”

A mum and daughter participate in the Child Welfare Association (CICWA) and Agriculture vegetable planting programme at the Matavera Clinic. MELINA ETCHES/24030402

Over 30 participants attended the workshops, which promote sustainable practices and empower families to grow their own nutritious food in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way.

Cecilia Samuela-TouAriki from the Ministry of Agriculture said: “We are happy with the attendees who were so eager to learn and we are also delighted with the support from the papas and dads that came along to the sessions.”

She emphasised the programme’s goal of encouraging young mothers and families to maintain small home gardens for fresh and nutritious vegetables.

“The garden does not need to accommodate a huge area; pot plants or buckets can be used. Our aim is increasing their knowledge of preparing the seeds for planting, transfer the seedlings to the containers when ready and management of these plants until harvest time,” said Samuela-TouAriki.

The ministry will follow up with participants to guide them through transplanting the seedlings and eventually harvesting their vegetables for their families.

"We acknowledge Ava Excavations Ltd and Child Welfare Association for their support of this program," concluded Samuela-TouAriki.

“We acknowledge Ava Excavations Ltd and Child Welfare Association for their support of this programme.”

The workshops were held in the evenings (from 6pm to 7pm) to accommodate the schedules of working parents.