Photo: Establishing a permagarden in DRC. Rudy Nkombo/Mercy Corps, 2020.
From Mercy Corps: In recent months, many in the agriculture and food security community have struggled to access essential tools and guidance, as several key websites have gone offline. This loss has left a noticeable gap in publicly available knowledge on resilient farming practices. In response, NGOs like Mercy Corps are working to restore and expand this public resource base — including through the newly launched Resilient Farming Systems webpage. The page features core technical materials such as the Resilience Design for Smallholder Farming Systems manual, assessment tools, checklists, and the Permagarden Approach tip sheet, among others. Please take a look and spread the word!
We’re also excited to share the Permagarden Foundations course is now back and publicly available on the Mercy Corps website. This self-paced, 9-part course teaches the basics of building productive, sustainable gardens using simple, low-cost techniques. It covers essential topics such as soil health, water management, garden design, and making the most of locally available resources — all aimed at helping households improve food security, nutrition, and resilience over the long term.
Not an agronomist? Don’t let that stop you! The course is applicable to program staff working with farmers across a variety of technical backgrounds – including in agriculture, nutrition, health, WASH, protection, and natural resource management (NRM). Whether you’re new to permagardens or just need a refresher, we encourage you to take the course and share it with your teams!