 Brother Tuione, Zach Robinbson, Lee Hardy, Hans Sorenson, Brother Kaufusi, Elder Thomson |
The Welfare tractor was used to plow the fields at Niumate. The fields are planted and harvested by the ward. Every family participates in the care of the garden, and all benefit from the food grown there. Some of the crops are sold. The profit will be used to pay for the ploughing next season. In front of the men is taro, and behind is ufi.
To plant ufi, men dig down about 5-6 feet (using shovel, no modern equipment used) for each plant. Yes, that is for EACH plant in this 5 acre field. The soft soil is then put in the hole and the ufi cutting (like a potato) is planted placed about 6 inches down. The ufi will then grow to be 5-6 feet long. If the hole is only 2 feet deep, it will grow to be that big. Ufi is a starch, generally cooked in an umu in the ground and served with coconut milk over it. It is a survival food here in Tonga. The other major crops are sweet potato, manioke, squash, and coconuts. Of course, there are also bananas, papayas, mangos.
The ufi is considered food storage as well. It can be left in the ground for a long period of time. In the event of a hurricane, it can be dug up for food.
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Monday, September 25, 2017
Niumate Welfare Garden
Niumate Welfare Garden
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Wow! I can't imagine planting all of that one at a time in that manner! How long did it take?
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