From Hazard to Harvest: Community Garden Sparks Change in Kapatagan
MUNICIPALITY OF KAPATAGAN, LANAO DEL SUR —Vulnerable families living in a multi-hazard community in Kapatagan, Lanao del Sur start to earn through its community garden supported by Action Against Hunger.
The community in Kapatagan is beaming with pride as they reap the rewards of their hard work, harvesting organic and fresh produce from their thriving community garden. Not only are they enjoying the fruits of their labor, but they are also sharing the bounty by selling these nutritious goods to their neighbors and nearby communities.

Photo by Kit de Galicia for Action Against Hunger
The fresh produce is selling well according to Noraima, a mother and iPrepared resilient livelihood beneficiary. “Just this week, we have harvested 170 kilos of cucumber sold for thirty pesos [51 American cents] per kilo. We also sold our okra and eggplant. Sometimes, the vegetables won’t even reach the market as neighbors would already come to the garden to buy them,” she shares.
With the funding support of the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID-BHA), Action Against Hunger’s iPrepared project integrates community gardens for families prone to disaster to learn the value of preparedness through food security and resilient livelihoods.

Community orientation about the Climate Resilient Farm Schools (CRFS).
Barangay Bakikis is one of the communities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. It is often affected by disasters such as flooding and landslides, as it is surrounded by a river. It is also subject displacement due to local conflicts.
The community garden in Barangay Bakikis is just one of the six community gardens in Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Sur supported by the project. These are the outcomes of the Climate Resilient Field School (CRFS) iPrepared training sessions introducing alternative tools and approaches compared to regular gardening.
“The integration of food security and resilient livelihoods on disaster preparedness ensures vulnerable families prone to the disaster have access to food and protection of its livelihood during and immediately after an emergency, empowering them to recover more effectively and build resilience against future disasters,” says Action Against Hunger’s Food Security and Livelihood Project Officer for iPrepared, Renee Galeos.
In the short time that they’ve been involved in the field school, Noraima is already seeing the difference in their finances.
“The extra income is a great help to our family─for our daily expenses and allowance for my children. It’s our way of saving for the rainy days,” says Noraima.
The Inclusive Disaster Preparedness for Local Resilience in Areas at High Risk of Natural and Human-Induced Hazards in BARMM, Mindanao is made possible with the support of the American people through the funding of USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.