METI’s mission is to promote simultaneously the preservation of the environment and the sustainable development of natural resources. Over the past years, METI has engaged into setting up of village Farmers’ Cooperative Societies and capacity building initiatives for producing organic crops for their own consumption and for sales in the local or overseas markets and healthy living training with a particular focus on the near-epidemic of Obesity and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD).
Seed Funding Title: Integrated Backyard Gardening for a Holistic Approach to Income and Health
Seed Funding supported Activities:
- Produce and distribute seedlings of drumstick and Jackfruit trees; plantlets of pennywort; and rooted shoots of the Pacific yam to 500 households.
- Conduct training/ demonstration workshops for village communites on how to utilise the crops.
- Demonstration cooking classes on integrating the crops into the Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) diet for enhancing household incomes/reducing food expenditures.
- METI edited cookbook.
https://metisamoa.wordpress.com/
METI’s Experience Capitalization Publication:
Content: A training programme covering the basics of permaculture and of a healthy lifestyle is promoting sustainable development and enabling communities across Samoa to combat the adverse effects of climate change. Drawing upon Samoan heritage, the Taiala programme placed an emphasis upon community-led education and communal learning in farmer’s cooperative societies. Through the guidance of Matuaileoo Environment Trust Inc.’s Taiala programme, 10 villages have now adopted a more ecologically attuned world-view.