Start in your own backyard. Build a stronger world. Working together,
change is possible.

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[ [link removed] ]Mercy Corps

In a year when pandemic has turned the world upside down,
we also saw extreme effects from climate change in the U.S. — wildfires
along the West Coast, and blackout-causing winter snow and ice storms in
the South.

In our rapidly changing world, learning to adapt is a skill worth
cultivating. And for anyone with some outdoor space and an interest in
growing food, [ [link removed] ]building a keyhole garden is one way to cultivate climate
resilience in your own backyard.

[ What ]What is a keyhole garden?
These sustainable, regenerative gardens were first used as a way to grow
nutritious food in harsh climates. Mercy Corps trained farmers in
Timor-Leste to combine keyhole gardens and rainwater harvesting systems,
to better endure the country’s increasingly unpredictable dry and rainy
seasons.

In Timor-Leste, I visited a small village in the beautiful central
highlands. I met the community there, heard their stories, and took
photographs of this life-changing project.

I met farmers like Evaristo, who showed off his new water harvesting
system — a series of split-bamboo pipes that led to a catchment pool. He
was clearly proud as water coursed through the bamboo and splashed down
into the pool below.

[ Evaristo ]Evaristo
Evaristo, 40, stands next to his bamboo rainwater collection system which
he built to nurture a keyhole garden, with training from Mercy Corps.
Before the community began collecting rainwater in this way, Evaristo and
his neighbors had to walk 40 minutes to the nearest water source — and
sometimes there was nothing but a dry riverbed.

Evaristo explains how water availability has also changed which crops they
choose to grow:

"Before, we depended on [growing] the coffee. We harvested it once or
twice a year and had to wait to sell and be able to buy things. Now we
have keyhole gardening and we have water to water our vegetables... Even
in just two months we can harvest something and sell it."

Constructed with low-cost, local materials, this climate-smart farming
technology offers families in Timor-Leste year-round access to vegetables
both for income and for nutrition. [ [link removed] ]Read more about this project, plus
find links to detailed instructions on how to build your own keyhole
garden, here.

But before you get digging, remember this important tip from Evaristo:

"It’s much easier to work as a group rather than working alone. This
community really supports each other and is always working together.
Whenever we finish one system, we go to another home and help."

We’re
so grateful to members of our global community of humanitarians like
you. Together, we can
build a stronger world.

Sincerely,

Ezra Millstein
Mercy Corps Senior Global Photographer



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