View Document: Kompiam Agribusiness Women Ekolosi Kibung

This 'Ekolosi Kibung', Ecological Agricuture and Climate Change Adaptation Workshop was held at Red Kona, Laiyakama next to Kompiam Government Station, Enga Province from 12 to 14 March 2025. There were 36 women. 6 men and 1 youth participants. The workshop started with the women identifying the 9 main varieties of 'kaukau' (sweet potato) and when and for what reason they plant them. The interactive sessions then followed under the theme of family food security, especially in the face of the severe storm, rainfall and flood events and fleeting, unseasonal dry spells which the women are facing as their experience of climate change.  The main issues considered were:

• saving soil, adding back to garden beds
• soil loss from too many pigs tethered on old gardens or coffee blocks especially on sloping ground
• maintaining and building soil fertility, aided by agroforestry
• clean composting and mulching
• protection of water supply
• checking and selecting seed to ensure quality
• food presesrvation and storage
• controlling insect infestation and plant diseases with your own locally prepared insecticides and poisons
• identifying the food crops that should always be growing in your gardens for food security during drought or other emergency

Finally, we had a discussion about our big, rapid population increase cutting down garden areas so that we have only 2 to 5 years of bush fallow and loss of soil fertility. The question we left with the women and men was: "how many children can you raise and care for properly?"