Vigyan Prasar, the National level Science Popularisation Organisation of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, presents a compendium that includes the schedule for model home gardening. Home gardens are considered as valuable sources of nutrients for the common people. However, the traditional knowledge system about maintaining home gardens and the nutritional value of the products of home gardens are poorly documented. In order to capture the huge knowledge resources lying scattered in various silos, it is deemed necessary to disseminate the information in a calendar form regarding nutrient-rich vegetables that can be grown in the gardens at the household level, along with their nutritional significance.
The initiative of providing food as well as nutrition security to the tribal families through home gardening is implemented by Vigyan Prasar and supported by Science for Equity, Empowerment & Development (SEED) Division of Department of Science & Technology, Government of India. The initiative was aimed to present an easy to use information resource on locally adaptable tools and techniques for tribal women based in the state of Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal to optimise production and enhance livelihood options. The objective of the initiative is to empower these women to diagnose and develop need-based preventive and remediation strategies for use in a timely manner.
Under the aegis of Department of Science & Technology (DST), the Home Gardening - 36 square metre Model has been prepared for the tribal women in the state of Jharkhand. These contents are also significant for tribal areas of Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha. As part of this initiative, Vigyan Prasar has developed a crop calendar, a compendium of vegetables and fruits, and a recipe book to be used principally as training material. These training materials are to be utilised for providing training purpose to the agricultural extension workers, women workers in the grassroots level, Self Help Groups (SHGs), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), and healthcare professionals.