Local Food Utilisation: A Stunting Prevention Initiative

This project is implemented by Yayasan Kopernik on behalf of our partner who provided grant funding for this project.

We will conduct nutrition-sensitive agriculture education and establish community gardens to improve the quality of food, dietary diversity and patterns, and nutritional intake, and reduce stunting prevalence.

Project Type

  • Experimentation

THE PROBLEM

East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province has been reported as the province with the highest stunting prevalence at 37.8%, where more than a third of children under the age of 2 were reported to be stunted. In the regency of South Central Timor (TTS), stunting prevalence is at a staggering rate of 48.3%, with more than 30,000 children under the age of 5 considered to be stunted in the area.

Even though numerous stunting-prevention programs have been implemented in this region over the years, stunting prevalence in the region remains high. Most families in NTT consume starchy food that is generally low in essential nutrients, such as vitamins, protein, and minerals. One of the reasons for this low dietary diversity is limited knowledge about locally available nutritious food.

In 2021, with the support from Polish Aid, Kopernik conducted unmet needs research in three villages in TTS that have a high prevalence of stunting among children under the age of 5: Kuatae (82.6%), Noemeto (76.9%), and Taubneno (72.6%). The research mapped out the current situation related to stunting and to better understand the needs of the community regarding stunting prevention efforts. The research found that the communities face several challenges, these include:

  • Access to nutritious ingredients.
  • Knowledge and skills to prepare and consume locally available nutritious food.
  • Access to education about nutrition.
  • Support services for pregnant women and mothers with children under the age of 5.
  • Inadequate/limited services provided by the Integrated Healthcare Post (Posyandu).

Using the research findings, we designed stunting prevention interventions to be tested in two villages – Kuatae and Noemeto. We conducted a series of experiments to test the effectiveness of stunting prevention and nutrition-sensitive agriculture educational interventions, and established a community-owned garden to provide the community with easy access to sustainable and nutritious local food, especially households with pregnant women and children under the age of 2.

The initial results of these interventions showed promise in addressing the unmet needs identified during our research. These promising solutions for the prevention and reduction of stunting are now ready to be replicated in another village in Soe, South Central Timor to further determine their effectiveness. 

THE SOLUTION

We will implement and test three interventions to improve the quality of food, dietary diversity and patterns, and nutritional intake of households with pregnant women and mothers with children under 2 years old in Kesetnana village, South Mollo, South Central Timor.

  1. Each intervention (treatment) will be implemented in Kesetnana village and Oinlasi village will serve as the control group:
  2. Nutrition-sensitive agriculture education. The intervention will focus on food security and utilisation of locally available nutritious food. Activities include nutrition-sensitive agriculture educational training to encourage the target group to improve the quality of food and nutrition intake by their children, local food identification, recipe development, and a cooking competition.
  3. Establishment of community gardens to provide the community members with easy access to sustainable and nutritious local food

For the implementation of these interventions, we will work closely with the village Posyandu cadres, village heads, and the Health Department of South Central Timor Regency. 

THE EXPECTED IMPACT

We aim to improve the quality of food, dietary diversity and patterns, and nutritional intake of households with pregnant women and mothers with children under 2 years old.

Through stunting prevention and nutrition-sensitive agriculture education, as well as the establishment of community gardens, we will improve the community knowledge and dietary practices, which potentially lead to stunting prevalence reduction.

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PROJECT COST

Type
Description
Amount

Solution & Project Implementation

Costs associated with the purchase of the solutions tested and project coordination

$11,238

Monitoring & Evaluation

Costs associated with data collection, analysis and reporting

$966

Administration Fee

Cost of transferring payments internationally, processing online donations (5%) and a contribution to Kopernik's operational costs (15%)

$816

Total $13,020

This project is implemented by Yayasan Kopernik on behalf of our partner who provided grant funding for this project.