Who are we?
The Kastom Gaden Association (KGA) works with Solomon Island communities to improve family health and food security through:
- encouraging community self-reliance and organic food production for the family first, and then for local markets
- supporting farmer-to-farmer learning and support networks
- supporting family nutrition through access to fresh foods
- finding solutions that support farm adaptation for climate-resilient farming
- in association with the Solomon Islands Planting Material Network, providing training and assistance in setting up and managing community-based seed and staple food crop planting material production and distribution networks.
Family farming sustains rural villagers in Melanesia. Increasing the sustainability of village farming is a core activity of the KGA.
To further the goal of regional food security, KGA cooperates with community organisations, development agencies, agriculture departments, hospitals and health services, religious organisations, government and donors.
Our Mission
Strengthen village based food security in the Solomon Islands using participatory, practical, grass roots approaches that enable village people to examine, understand and develop their own solutions to improving household food security and village based agriculture economy.
KGA Story
Kastom Gaden Association (KGA) was registered as a charitable trust in the Solomon Islands in 2001.
The organisation grew out of a program of the International NGO APACE which ran from 1993 to 2000. KGA was founded by the late Joini Tutua and Tony Jansen and has been working with farmers, farmer groups including women, youth and small enterprises for over 31 years promoting sustainable, organic food production, self reliance and food sovereignty.
KGA is governed by a board of trustees. The board is elected by a core group of KGA 8000 plus members who are chosen from the membership of KGA’s Planting Material Network.
Our Values
In order to achieve the above mission certain values will guide us. KGA is committed to the following values:
- we value having a friendly, self sustaining environment in which staff feel that they are part of the organisation and that organisation is part of them
- we will always work to maintain the simplicity of grass root approaches which give opportunity to farmer, technical people, staff, researchers and interested people to select and use
- we will promote equality between all citizens: male and female, young and old, people with a disability etc because participation and transparency are important tools for achieving and ensuring fair distribution of benefits.
Big Issues for KGA
Climate change adaptation and the nutrition crisis (Non Communicable Disease NCD and malnutrition).
These issues are cross cutting and will be addressed through all our KGA operational strategies in our KGA Strategic Plan 2025-2030.
Promoting food security for rural livelihoods
‘Kastom Gaden’ is a Solomons Pijin language term meaning ‘customary gardening’.
Kastom Gaden Association (KGA) trainers combine useful elements of customary (traditional) food production with modern approaches to create an environmentally sustainable and culturally compatible approach to small scale food production for villagers.
The KGA was created when APACE’s (Appropriate Technology for Community and Environment) Kastom Garden Programme ended in 2001.
Kastom Gaden has fostered regional cooperation by extending their work into other parts of Melanesia and by developing a team of competent and experienced trainers. Kastom Gaden works with rural partner organisations to strengthen their work.
