In Ambon City, Maluku, Linda Narua’s love of gardening began as a quiet hobby. Today, it’s helping her neighbours eat well, earn more and reduce reliance on imported food.
Through training and seeds provided by UnitingWorld’s partner, the Sagu Salempeng Foundation (SSF*), Linda turned her backyard into a thriving kitchen garden. She now grows kale, tomatoes, mustard greens and chillies, building food security in her community and cutting the need for foreign imports, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.
When her vegetables started flourishing, Linda began sharing them with neighbours, who praised their freshness and flavour. Encouraged, she attended further training, learned efficient farming techniques, and started selling her produce locally. Her friendly approach and excellent quality soon won loyal customers, and she even began promoting her garden on social media to reach more people.
Now, her once-small hobby is a source of family income and community pride. Linda inspires other women in her village to plant their own gardens, reminding them that even small spaces can feed families and strengthen local resilience.
“I’m proud that my garden helps others,” she says. “We can all make something good grow.”
Supported by UnitingWorld, the Maluku Livelihoods and Peacebuilding helped 577 people like Linda start a kitchen garden in 2024-25. Six village governments were assisted to organise a kitchen garden competition that attracted an additional 120 participants. SSF also worked with villages to plant 2179 trees for disaster mitigation and adaptation.
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*The Sagu Salempeng Foundation is the development agency of our partner, the Protestant Church of Maluku.