This story, by the Toronto Star's Rosie DiManno, who is on location in Afghanistan right now, reminds me of my own garden! I wish that I had been half as industrious this summer- but of course, there is still time for spinach :) This story reminds me of how the Doukhobors helped Japanese Canadians, who would have otherwise suffered malnutrition, with produce during the Second World War.

Here is the link to the story and some kind comments.

ABUL

The testimonials are simple and eloquent.

"I bought a cow."

"I bought a carpet."

"I bought a refrigerator."

"My children are in school."

And, in an echo of mom urgings all over the world: "My kids are now eating fresh vegetables!"

From a faith-based institution in Waterloo, Ont., to a rigidly non-religious NGO in Kabul, this is the outcome – nine villages in Parwan Province, north of the capital, where nearly 3,000 women tend garden plots that earn a godsend income for their families.

They are, quite literally, victory gardens – as Canadians planted them during World War II – a triumph of modest ambitions over the boondoggle that has become international aid in Afghanistan.

"The women are growing carrots, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, grapes," says Catherine Sobrevega, country manager for MEDA Afghanistan. "But these are not the products you find being sold from the back of trucks on the side of the highway. These are higher-quality fruits and vegetables that are sold in supermarkets and to hotels."

MEDA is the Mennonite Economic Development Association, headquartered in Waterloo, which provides microfinancing for the Garden Gate Project in conjunction with CIDA.

The women who participate know nothing about Mennonites and, if informed that such an altruistic venture originated with a religious denomination in Canada, would likely be averse to involvement. But there is no proselytizing allowed in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for faith-based charities. So "God's work" – a Mennonite hallmark of humanitarianism – is done secularly.

"I'm not a Mennonite," notes Sobrevega, who hails from the Philippines and spent 14 years working for CARE International in Afghanistan before taking the MEDA job. "We don't try to bring faith. The only important thing is the sincerity you bring to the project."

The undertaking started with three villages in 2007, since expanded to nine, and 14 more are knocking on the door to join. That, too, is a victory of alien practice over rural culture, where women are severely circumscribed by Afghan patriarchy, rarely venturing outside their homes, discouraged from any activities not directly related to their families.

Through direct $2,000 MEDA grants and funds secured via various agencies, microfinancing is extended to these rural ladies for instruction in modern horticultural techniques and marketing acumen, linking them to a network of development organizations such as Women for Women and the Afghan Women's Business Council.

"What we do is provide the horticultural experts and link them to financial institutions that can provide them with loans because 50 per cent of the funding needs to come from the women themselves," says Sobrevega.

This shared cost is meant to encourage individual ownership of the garden plot scheme, rather than promoting the beggar-bowl mentality that has crippled aid projects in Asia and Africa.

Afghanistan is an agrarian country, yet modern horticulture is an unknown concept to most as they struggle to raise crops other than hardy opium. The Garden Gate Project has introduced these backyard lady entrepreneurs to such innovations as solar dryer facilities, underground storage and winter greenhouses. A solar dryer runs about $250, a greenhouse $600. That's a huge investment for poor Afghans – hence the need for grants and loans. But modern techniques mean maximum output using fewer supplies. Storing garden crops brings higher profits in winter sales, especially to hotels in Kabul that cater to Westerners who crave fresh salads and vegetables.

A woman needs only show she has 250 square metres of land at her disposal, to start, with capacity to double that in the second or third year of gardening. Zero profit is expected in the first season of planting but $150 in the next and – with a greenhouse constructed, for example, an average of $380 in the third. That may seem piddling but it makes an immense difference to a rural household – allowing for the purchase of school supplies, appliances and other conveniences, even the odd luxury. And it's no small benefit that children get a better diet out of it to boot.

And, there has been an added benefit – a vibrant community of the feminine. "These women used to see each other only at weddings and funerals," says Sobrevega. "Now they're at each other's houses all the time, talking about vegetables and fruit prices."

Rosie DiManno usually appears Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.