Local farmer praises livelihood project

A good 4-hour drive out of Panguna in Central Bougainville will bring you to Bana Constituent, a district on the border between South and Central Bougainville. Here, Peter Siales lives with his wife, Francisca, and their family in a neatly kept oasis with a community of more than 300 people.

Peter is a subsistence farmer who looks after domestic cattle and grows crops around his home to help sustain his family. Two years ago, he was introduced to World Vision's Well Being Outcomes to End Violence, Enable Livelihoods and Improve Nutrition (WOVEN) project in his community and his life has been changed for the better.

As in any remote community, 80 percent of the population here makes ends meet by cultivating the land and raising domestic cattle. Nonetheless, the lack of basic skills and knowledge on how to properly take care of their produce, market, and save money was one area Peter and the community members lacked in.

"l am a subsistence farmer and I grow and raise cattle. Before I underwent training with World Vision, I thought I was raising my cattle and marketing the right way. However, after the training I now realise where I need to improve, how best I can sell my products and also save money to sustain my family in the long run," said Peter.

The pieces of training that are conducted to enhance community members' skills and knowledge to improve productivity and production quality include; Resilient Inclusive Social Enterprise (RISE) Training, Cocoa IPDM Training, Poultry Husbandry Training, and Marketing Skills Training under the Marketing model of the WOVEN project.

According to WOVEN project officer Georgina Oaike, there are four main components under the WOVEN program that community members are trained with; the Savings for Transformation(S4T) component, Market Component, Nutrition Component, and the Gender Component.

"We train the community members with training under the four project components of WOVEN, all of these components are integrated and implemented in the communities to equip households with financial tools, information, and network to grow their business as well as improve the well-being of their family," said Georgina.

Through the intervention of the WOVEN program, Peter now fully understands how to market and save money, he has been applying the knowledge and skills he learned from the pieces of training and is pleased with how it has impacted his life.

"l have learned valuable skills that have helped better my living and save cost and I'm very grateful for this project, I now know how to properly look after my chickens and also how to quickly sell them using the marketing training I acquired, it's now exciting to see how my chickens sell faster," said Peter.

Peter tries to integrate all four components and one component he has been vocal about in his community is the Savings for Transformation component and the Nutritional component.

Acting as the chairman of their Savings for Transformation (S4T) group, Peter confirmed that 17 people in the community have registered and have been doing their savings.

"Before the intervention of this project we did not have a lot of money because we did not know how to save, after the intervention of this project and with all the training we have gone through we have seen the benefits of saving and have been savings, it's been so beneficial to us, especially for school fees and family needs," said Peter.

He further added that going into town was an expensive exercise and not everyone in the community, especially the elderly could go into town due to the distance. Additionally, they do not have proper bank accounts, so the Savings for Transformation has been a blessing in disguise for him and members of his community.

From raising cattle to now being fully skilled on how to do his marketing and saving money, Peter and his wife Francisca have become avid gardeners and their use their backyard garden speaks for itself.

He and his wife now use the skills and knowledge they have acquired from the Nutritional component of the Woven program to fully utilize their backyard and plant vegetables and greens.

"Instead of buying greens and vegetables, we now harvest food right at our doorstep and cook for our family. This helped us to save money and also contributes to our nutritious meals every day' 'stated Francisca excitedly.

Meanwhile, Peter now owns two chicken houses, and using the money he makes from selling his chickens, he plans to extend his chicken poultry house.

The Wellbeing Outcomes to End Violence, Enable Livelihood, and Improve Nutrition (WOVEN) program is funded by the New Zealand Government (MFAT) through World Vision PNG and is currently being implemented in Central (Panguna and Kieta) and South Bougainville (Bana, Buin, and Siwai).