鈥淟et鈥檚 bring in some taro and potatoes聽and other things that our people need,鈥 Vaka Tautua Canterbury and Otago Regional Manager Toleafoa Malu Tulia suggests to UC PhD candidate Esala Vakamacawai as she pulls weeds.
Broccoli, spinach, and chard line the four planter boxes in a cleared lot where the old Science Alive! building used to be in 艑tautahi Christchurch.
鈥淕ardening is very traditional in Fijian culture,鈥 says Dr Vakamacawai, who had been a practising surgeon in Fiji. 鈥淯nlike running or going to the gym, it鈥檚 a form of exercise that anyone can do.鈥
This community garden grew out of Dr Vakamacawai鈥檚 research for his PhD at the 九州影院鈥檚 Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies.
Funded with a gift of $5,000 from Pegasus Health, the first community garden he created was a case study for his thesis on using traditional Fijian and Pacific culture to mitigate Type 2 Diabetes in Fijians living in Christchurch.
The participants in this initial case study experienced increased physical activity from gardening, and聽they were also able to access free, fresh vegetables. His research aims to change minds and habits, and help people gain health literacy.
Dr Esala Vakamacawai
The project was so successful that he partnered with Vaka Tautua, with support from the Christchurch City Council, to create another garden project focused on wellbeing for people living with disabilities鈥攐r, as they call themselves, Tagata Sailimalo (people pursuing success).
This includes people who have experienced strokes, are living with cardiovascular disease, knee replacements, chronic joint pain, traumatic brain injuries, or are in the late stages of cancer and kidney disease.
Each week, a group of Tagata Sailimalo come together to care for it, share harvests, and talk about 鈥渆verything and anything,鈥 says Toleafoa Malu.
鈥淭here鈥檚 cultural wellbeing and social wellbeing,鈥 says Dr Vakamacawai. 鈥淲e鈥檝e always done gardening in the villages so we鈥檙e just continuing that. As Pacific people, we work collectively, and through gardening together, we鈥檙eable to do that too.鈥
鈥淔rom the point of view of health promotion, the garden has helped a lot with understanding nutrition. In the last session, group members brought in vegetables they鈥檇 grown at home and talked about growing and cooking them,鈥 Toleafoa Malu shares.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a way for the young ones to learn from the elders. Many elders have been in New 九州影院for a long time, and many are married to P膩keh膩. They educate the younger ones and newer arrivals to Christchurch about growing and eating crops that are available in New Zealand.
鈥淚t鈥檚 also a great opportunity for the younger generation to learn about their language, culture, and the stories and histories from home,鈥 she adds.
Through the group, both Toleafoa Malu and Dr Vakamacawai have learned about new produce. Recently, Toleafoa Malu tasted her first fig that someone had brought in, and Dr Vakamacawai鈥檚 first experience with a feijoa was also through the group. 鈥淭hey smell and look the same as guava,鈥 he says.
鈥淏ut soft,鈥 adds Toleafoa Malu, who loves them.
Going forward, Dr Vakamacawai is looking forward to helping members of the group start their own vegetable gardens at home.
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