Most of the houses in the Anambas Islands are located along the coastline, with some even built entirely over the water. The villagers have adapted their home gardening and vegetable production methods to suit their unique living conditions.
Nurmi, a 33-year-old woman, lives with her husband and three children in Payalaman Village. Her house stands on stilts above the sea, with a “yard” made of wooden planks extending over the water.
Towards the end of last year, Nurmi learned about vegetable seedling cultivation, transplanting techniques, and plant care from Yayasan Bina Tani Sejahtera (YBTS). Before that, she had never planted anything, and she was very excited to try gardening for the first time.
The whole family got involved, from mixing the planting media to sowing the seeds.
When the seedlings were ready for transplanting, Nurmi transferred some to long wooden planters and others to larger soil bags. By the time she transplanted the second batch of chili seedlings, the water spinach in the wooden planters was already ready for harvest.
