Namu Robby – Building resilience after natural disasters
Namu Robby lives with his family in the Anabrou settlement area of Port Vila. His family has a small business, making furniture out of local timber, with a few family members working in town.
Tropical Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu on March 13 2015, causing widespread damage and destruction throughout the country. Namua was one of many affected
As with most settlements in the capital, many family members live together in very close quarters. In Namu’s case, twenty eight people across four homes are living in his plot. Namu and his family use a portion of their plot to plant cassava and island cabbage, but don’t usually plant other vegetables.
After the cyclone, FAO distributed vegetable seeds to urban and peri-urban households as part of its Emergency Support to Re-establish Agricultural Production in Communities Affected by Cyclone Pam project.
Seed Distribution
One day a seed distribution point was set up in Anabrou, right next to Namu’s yard. He couldn’t believe his luck. “ We were astonished that seeds were being distributed”.
Namu was one of the first in line to receive seeds. Soon after he received his seeds he surprised the distribution team. He began to clear a space in his yard and planted the seeds in a small nursery while seeds were still being distributed to other families. This was fantastic encouragement to those still lining up to receive their seeds. This was the first time the family had planted vegetables seeds from a packet. “We planted Chinese cabbage after the disaster”, said Namu.
Harvesting
All of the seeds Namu received were planted in the yard, including Chinese cabbage, round cabbage, tomato and capsicum. His large family needs a lot of food and they have already harvested most of the vegetables. “The vegetable grew well and have been a huge help to the family”, said Namu.
Grateful for the support he received, Namu said that the majority of the Anabrou area also received seeds and planted them.
This initiative was possible with the support of the Belgian Trust Fund donor. “Thank you for the big hearts that they could think about us after the cyclone and El Nino dry period”. Namu continued ” I pray that God will bless them in all of the good things that they do”.
Belgium remains a top donor to the FAO’s Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities, which enables both to rapidly respond to a crisis, financing the immediate purchase of essential agricultural inputs and to quickly launch field activities to protect livelihoods and safeguard food security and nutrition.