The Kalava Dry Piggery project is intended for the Kalava Clan which forms part of the Nanumaga Island community in the northern island group of Tuvalu. The driving factors behind this initiative is a result of the persistent use of chemical fertilizers which pose harmful environmental impacts on the ground level, affecting crops and the soil content. These chemical fertilizers also presents harmful impacts on the skin for those involved in gardening- and further posing a negative impact on the island population if continued to be used.
There is an Agriculture Official stationed on island and the local population have been accessing these fertilizers through this Office, for over a decade the gardeners on island have had to deal with the negative effects of its use. As such, the initiative for this project aims at promoting climate change resilience, secure food supply through pork supplements and vegetable gardens. This initiative will further encourage healthy lifestyle through wider accessibility to home grown vegetables and at the same time continue feeding pigs using no water.
Given the risks associated with these imported chemical fertilizers, the need to use them due to the poor soil condition and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a concern over the regularity of shipping schedule bringing in these supplies of chemical fertilizers, and most importantly concerns over the security on imported food supplies. As such, this initiative is taken to address the negative impacts on the use of chemical fertilizers on the soil and the people, through switching to utilizing existing dry pig waste which is readily available, free of charge and environmentally friendly. Additionally through the availability of controlled waste, people will be able to grow home gardens that will supplement the much needed nutrients and securing food supply through a certain source of poultry which in turn will improve the welfare of the people on Nanumaga.