Plants carry very big importance in our lives. From the food that we eat to the air we breathe are created by plants. Without plants we could neither breathe nor eat anything. Life without plants is unimaginable. Plants and products that are generated from plants are associated in every activity we perform. Plants are associated in the education we get as papers on which our books are printed, papers we write, pencils we use. Likewise, in medicines we use to cure our diseases most of the raw materials used in producing medicines are produced from plants. The furniture, doors, windows, even the decorative materials used in our houses is made from the plants. Beyond all of these a deeper relation of plants and human being can not be avoided as we both are nature and simply, life without plants and environment without lives is unimaginable.
It is found that, growing plants has its benefits not only in our environment and greenhouses but also in mental health of the people. People getting involved in non-commercial farming have reduced level of stress than people who are not involved in it. Additionally, people getting involved in such gardening have improved self-esteem and mood swing status. Along with this, gardening is even more beneficial than indoor reading for reducing depression, which has been observed in the beneficiaries with whom SETU Nepal has been working for more than a decade.
Apart from this, during our livelihood training sessions, we are observing lack of balanced diet (especially, fruits and vegetables) among our participants through their dietary recall. We realized that HIV positive women are usually prone to inadequate nutrition. Considering all these things, we assume including awareness regarding Home gardening in our livelihood training program could be beneficial in improving their self-esteem, mental health as well as add value in their nutrition. Along with this, we also make them conscious that preserving plants around us makes our environment clean and green.
Keeping this concept in mind SETU Nepal has started to provide a fruit plant to our Training Participants of our Livelihood Training Program. As we discuss about the environment conservation and importance of variable nutritious diet in our food during the training program, this can be a memory of the discussed contents that can be utilized in their day to day life.