Publication date: March 12, 2007
The Overstory #186--Introduction to tropical homegardens:
time-tested agroforestry
by P.K.R. Nair and B.M. Kumar
Contents:
: INTRODUCTION
: THE CONCEPT OF HOMEGARDEN
: GENESIS AND GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF HOMEGARDENS
: --> Temperate homegardens
: COMPLEXITY OF HOMEGARDENS
: HOMEGARDENS IN THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY LAND USE ISSUES
: REFERENCES
: ORIGINAL SOURCE
: ABOUT THE AUTHORS
: WEB LINKS
: RELATED EDITIONS OF THE OVERSTORY
: PUBLISHER NOTES
: SUBSCRIPTIONS
::::::::
THE CONCEPT OF HOMEGARDEN
It is rather customary that any writing on homegardens starts with a
"definition" of the term. There is no universally accepted
"definition" of the term. An examination of the various "definitions"
used or suggested by various authors shows that they all revolve
around the basic concept that has been around for at least the past
20 years, i.e., since the "early literature" on the subject (Wiersum,
1982; Brownrigg, 1985; Fernandes and Nair, 1986; Soemarwoto, 1987):
homegardens represent intimate, multistory combinations of various
trees and crops, sometimes in association with domestic animals,
around the homestead. This concept has been developed around the
rural settings and subsistence economy under which most homegardens
exist(ed). The practice of homegardening is now being extended to
urban settings (Drescher et al., 2006; Thaman et al., 2006) as well
as with a commercial orientation (Abdoellah et al., 2006; Yamada and
Osaqui, 2006).
Even before the advent of such new trends as urban and commercial
homegardens, the lack of clear-cut distinctions between various
stages in the continuum from shifting cultivation to high-intensity
multistrata systems and the various terms used in different parts of
the world to denote the different systems has often created confusion
in the use of the term homegarden and its underlying concept. The
confusion is compounded by the fact that in many parts of the world,
especially in the New World, swidden farming such as the milpa of
Mesoamerica evolve over a period of time into full-fledged
homegardens consisting of mature fruit trees and various other types
of woody perennials and the typical multistrata canopy
configurations. In such situations, it is unclear where the swidden
ends and homegarden begins -- and often they co-exist. Yet another
cause of confusion is the term itself: homegarden. Even for most
agricultural professionals who are either not familiar with or are
not appreciative of agroforestry practices, what we write as one word
'homegarden' sounds as two words 'home' and 'garden' sending the
signal that the reference is to ornamental gardening around homes.
While ornamentals are very much a part of homegardens in many
societies, homegardens, in our concept, are not just home gardens of
strictly ornamental nature.
As we explained in our recent paper (Kumar and Nair, 2004), we use
the term homegardens (and homegardening) to refer to farming systems
variously described in English language as agroforestry homegardens,
household or homestead farms, compound farms, backyard gardens,
village forest gardens, dooryard gardens and house gardens. Some
local names such as Talun-Kebun and Pekarangan that are used for
various types of homegarden systems of Java (Indonesia), Shamba and
Chagga in East Africa, and Huertos Familiares of Central America,
have also attained international popularity because of the excellent
examples of the systems they represent (Nair, 1993). In spite of the
emergence of homegardening as a practice outside their "traditional"
habitat into urban and commercial settings, the underlying concept of
homegardens remains the same as before "intimate, multistory
combinations of various trees and crops, sometimes in association
with domestic animals, around homesteads." Intimate plant
associations of trees and crops and consequent multistory canopy
configuration are essential to this concept. Equally important in
this concept is the home around which most homegardens are
maintained; but in some situations, multistory tree gardens (such as
the Talun or Kebun of Indonesia: Wiersum, 1982) that are not in
physical proximity to homes but receive the same level of constant
attention from the owners' household and have similar structural and
functional attributes as other homegarden units located near homes
are also considered as homegardens.
GENESIS AND GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF HOMEGARDENS
Tracing the history of homegardening, Kumar and Nair (2004) describe
it as the oldest land use activity next only to shifting cultivation
that has evolved through generations of gradual intensification of
cropping in response to increasing human pressure and the
corresponding shortage of arable lands. The Javanese homegardens of
Indonesia and the Kerala homegardens of India -- the two oft-cited
examples -- have reportedly evolved over centuries of cultural and
biological transformations and they represent the accrued wisdom and
insights of farmers who have interacted with environment, without
access to exogenous inputs, capital, or scientific skills. Wiersum
(2006) mentions that the origin of homegardening in Southeast Asia
has been associated with fishing communities living in the moist
tropical regions ca 13 000 to 9000 B.C. Implying the predominance of
homegardens in ancient India, Vatsyayana in his great book of Hindu
aesthetics -- Kamasutra, written ca 300 to 400 AD, describe house
gardens as a source of green vegetables, fig trees (Ficus spp.),
mustard (Brassica spp.) and many other vegetables (cf Randhawa,
1980). Ibn Battuta in his travelogue (1325 -- 1354) also wrote that
the densely populated and intensively cultivated landscape with
coconut (Cocos nucifera), black pepper (Piper nigrum), ginger
(Zingiber officinale), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), pulses
(grain legumes) and the like surrounding the houses formed a
distinctive feature of the Malabar coast of Kerala (Randhawa, 1980).
In both Java and Kerala, homegardening has been a way of life for
centuries and is still critical to the local subsistence economy and
food security (Kumar and Nair, 2004). This is true of several other
Old World homegardens as well (e.g., the Chagga of Mt. Kilimanjaro in
East Africa: Fernandes et al., 1984; Soini, 2005).
Some efforts have been made in compiling statistics on the spread of
homegardens. Such estimates include 5.13 million ha of land under
pekarangans in Indonesia, 0.54 million ha under homesteads in
Bangladesh, 1.05 million ha in Sri Lanka, and 1.44 million ha in
Kerala, India (Kumar, 2006). Christanty (1990) reported that more
than 70% of all households in the Philippines maintained homegardens;
but the extent of area occupied by them was not reported. Area
statistics of homegardens are also not available from a number of
other parts of the world although the prevalence of the practice --
indeed predominance in many situations -- has been reported from
various parts of the tropics. In an attempt to present a global
distribution of homegardens, we selected 135 entries from the CABI
Abstracts for the period from 1990 to 2003 for which geographical
locations are either mentioned or can be deduced; these included:
Africa 21, Europe (Catalonia, Austria, etc.) 10, Central and South
America 23, South Asia 45, Southeast Asia 30, other parts of Asia 2,
Pacific islands 4.
Based on the above, it is reasonable to assume that homegardens are
most popular in the tropics, but can also be found between 400°N and
30°S latitudes. South- and Southeast Asia, the Pacific islands, East-
and West Africa, and Mesoamerica are the regions where largest
concentrations of homegardens can be found. Homegardens are also
reportedly very popular in tropical and subtropical parts of China;
however, other than general descriptions of the systems (e.g.,
Zhaohua et al., 1991; Wenhua, 2001), practically no information could
be gathered on their area statistics. The Mediterranean region of
Catalonia (Agelet et al., 2000) and southern Africa (High and
Shackleton, 2000) also are reported to have homegardens. In terms of
ecological distribution, the highest concentrations of homegardens
are in the humid and subhumid tropics, but they are also common in
other ecological regions, especially the tropical highlands of Asia,
Africa, and Mesoamerica (Nair, 1989). Clearly, our understanding
about the spread of home-gardens is incomplete; more efforts are
needed to compile these statistics at local, regional, national, and
global levels.
--> Temperate homegardens
Although homegardens are known as a predominantly tropical
'phenomenon', homegardening -- or, conceptually similar practices --
exist outside the tropical zone as well. For instance, Gold and
Hannover (1987) and Herzog (1998) describe fruit-tree based
agroforestry systems in North America and Europe, respectively. Vogl
and Vogl-Lukasser (2003) reported that homegardens were typical
elements of the mosaic of agroecosystems in the mountainous Alpine
region of Austria. Streuobst (fruit trees grown on agricultural lands
with crops or pasture as understorey), a traditional practice in
Europe that has been on the decline since around 1930s, is now
receiving increasing attention and acceptance among the general
public and promoted by nongovernmental and conservation agencies.
Although the fruit-tree based agroforestry systems are strictly not
homegardening, such systems occasionally involve homegardening, and
their socio-cultural, ecological, and aesthetic values often exceed
their economic values. Based on an extensive survey and interview
with practitioners of African-American gardening traditions in the
rural southern United States, Westmacott (1992) traced the principal
functions and features of African-American yards and gardens. During
slavery, the gardens were used primarily to grow life-sustaining
crops and vegetables, and the yard of a crowded cabin was often the
only place where the slave family could assert some measure of
independence and perhaps find some degree of spiritual refreshment.
Since slavery, working the garden for the survival of the family has
become less urgent, but there seems to be a revival of appreciation
of their recreational, social, and other uses. For example, the
gardeners are now finding pleasure in growing flowers and produce and
deriving satisfaction from agrarian life-style, self-reliance, and
private ownership. Through historical research, field observations,
and oral interviews, Westmacott (1992) traces the West African roots
of this gardening tradition and elucidates how the African-American
community manipulated the garden space to their best advantage --
something very similar to the motivations of subsistence gardeners in
well-established homegardens in other parts of the world.
Related to the above-mentioned "African-American Yards and Gardens"
of the southern United States is the increasing interest in hobby
farming and weekend gardening that is getting popular in many urban
and rapidly urbanizing societies in both industrialized and
developing nations. Drescher et al. (2006) describe the urban
homegardens and some of the operational and institutional issues
related to them from a number of locations around the world. In a
survey of agroforestry practices and opportunities in southeastern
United States, Workman et al. (2003) identified several "special
applications" of agroforestry such as use of fruit trees combined
with gardens, ponds, and as bee forage and so-called patio gardens as
an increasingly popular activity especially among immigrant Latin
American communities. Thus, although homegardening as a major land
use practice is most widespread in thickly populated tropical
regions, the concept is being adopted in other geographical regions
as well to a limited extent.
COMPLEXITY OF HOMEGARDENS
Species diversity is one factor that is common to all homegardens,
and this point has been well brought out in homegarden literature
time and again. Indeed, authors tend to get nostalgic about
describing how diverse the plant communities in homegardens are and
rather adamant about including elaborate species lists in their
papers on homegardens to the extent that many seem to consider that a
paper on any aspect of homegarden is incomplete without a species
list! Interestingly, most of the plants that are listed in most such
publications are the same irrespective of the geographical regions
from where they are reported (see Nair, 2006). As various analyses
and summary reports have repeatedly indicated (e.g., Kumar and Nair,
2004), food plants (food crops and fruit trees) are the most common
species in most home-gardens throughout the world. This underscores
the fact that food- and nutritional security is the primary role of
homegardens -- again, a point well recognized in homegarden
literature right from the "early" years (e.g., Brownrigg, 1985;
Fernandes and Nair, 1986). Next in importance to food crops are cash
crops, and with increasing trend toward commercialization, the
interest in such crops is likely to only increase.
We recognize that complexity by itself may not be a desirable
attribute in land use systems that are (also) expected to fulfill
production objectives. Being located on the "prime land" around
homesteads and receiving utmost managerial attention of the
homeowners all the time, farmers have high expectations of
productivity from homegardens. After all, farmers decide on the
species to be planted and retained in the homegardens based on the
utilitarian value of the species. Species complexity in homegardens
is therefore not a natural phenomenon, but a result of deliberate
attempts and meticulous selection and management by farmers to
provide the products they consider are important for their
subsistence and livelihood. Species complexity in homegardens is thus
a manmade feature, unlike in natural systems. This distinction is
seldom recognized in comparisons involving ecological indices of
species diversity of homegardens, several of which have lately been
reported (see Nair, 2006).
Furthermore, it is likely that the extreme structural complexity and
diversity may be a "bane" of the homegardens in a sense. Each
homegarden is a unique land use entity in terms of component
arrangement, organization, and management, and it reflects the
personal preferences of its owner. This frustrates the development
community that seeks out "replicable models"; this is presumably the
main reason why homegardens have not received adequate attention in
the development paradigms around the world.
HOMEGARDENS IN THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY LAND USE ISSUES
Today land use systems are challenged as never before with mounting
concerns of environment and ethics on the one hand and pressures of
economic development on the other. Production and economic issues
that reigned supreme as ultimate goals in agricultural and forestry
development activities during the past few decades are slowly
yielding to environmental, societal, and social issues.
Sustainability --meeting today's needs without compromising the
ability of future generations to satisfy their needs -- is a key
issue in all land use activities today. Central to this concept is
the urge to achieve a balance between ecological preservation,
economic vitality, and social justice. Land use systems today are
thus evaluated based not only on their ability to fulfill any single
objective such as production of a preferred commodity, but also on
how best they fulfill the sustainability criteria. Contemporary
issues that dominate the discussions in this context include
natural-resource use in perpetuity, biodiversity conservation, gender
equity, social justice, environmental integrity, appreciation of
indigenous knowledge, preservation of cultural heritage, and so on.
While systematic studies on the role of homegardens in many of these
contemporary issues have not been done, there is a long-held belief
and intuition that homegardens score very high on most -- perhaps all
-- of these so-called "intangible" benefits. Logic, circumstantial
evidences, and limited empirical results that are available support
these conjectures; but certainly more convincing evidence based on
rigorous research is needed.
::::::::::::::
REFERENCES
Abdoellah OS., Hadikusumali H.Y., Takeuchi K., Okubo S. and
Parikesit. 2006. Commercialization of homegardens in an Indonesian
village: vegetation composition and functional changes. In: Kumar
B.M. and Nair P.K.R. (eds), Tropical homegardens: A time-tested
example of sustainable agroforestry, pp 233 -- 250. Springer Science,
Dordrecht.
Agelet A., Angels B.M. and Valles J. 2000. Homegardens and their role
as a main source of medicinal plants in mountain regions of Catalonia
(Iberian Peninsula). Econ Bot 54: 295--309.
Brownrigg L. 1985. Home Gardening in International Development: What
the literature shows. The League for International Food Education,
Washington, DC, 33Op.
Christanty L. 1990. Homegardens in tropical Asia with special
reference to Indonesia. In: Landauer K. and Brazil M. (eds), Tropical
home gardens, pp 9 -- 20. United Nations University Press, Tokyo.
Drescher A.W., Holmer R.J. and Iaquinta DL. 2006. Urban homegardens
and allotment gardens for sustainable livelihoods: management
strategies and institutional environments. In: Kumar B.M. and Nair
P.K.R. (eds), Tropical homegardens: A time-tested example of
sustainable agroforestry, pp 317 -- 338. Springer Science, Dordrecht.
Fernandes E.C.M. and Nair P.K.R. 1986. An evaluation of the structure
and function of tropical homegardens. Agric Syst 21: 279 -- 310.
Fernandes E.C.M., O'Kting'ati A. and Maghembe J. 1984. Chagga
homegardens: a multistory agroforestry cropping system on Mt.
Kilimanjaro, northern Tanzania. Agroforest Syst 2: 73--86.
Gold M.A. and Hanover J.W. 1987. Agroforestry systems of the
temperate zone. Agroforest Syst 5: 109--21.
Herzog F. 1998. Streuobst: a traditional agroforestry system as a
model for agroforestry development in temperate Europe. Agroforest
Syst 42: 61 -- 80. High C. and Shackleton C.M. 2000. The comparative
value of wild and domestic plants in homegardens of a South African
rural village. Agroforest Syst 48: 141 -- 156.
Kumar B.M. 2006. Carbon sequestration potential of tropical
homegardens. In: Kumar B.M. and Nair P.K.R. (eds), Tropical
homegardens: A time-tested example of sustainable agroforestry, pp
185 -- 204. Springer Science, Dordrecht. Kumar B.M. and Nair P.K.R.
2004. The enigma of tropical homegardens. Agroforest Syst 61: 135 --
152.
Nair P.K.R. (ed.). 1989. Agroforestry systems in the tropics. Kluwer,
Dordrecht, 664p.
Nair P.K.R. 1993. An introduction to agroforestry. Kluwer, Dordrecht, 499p.
Nair P.K.R. 2006. Wither homegardens? In: Kumar B.M. and Nair P.K.R.
(eds), Tropical homegardens: A time-tested example of sustainable
agroforestry, pp 355 -- 370. Springer Science, Dordrecht.
Randhawa MS. 1980. The history of Indian agriculture, vol. 2, pp 67
-- 68 and 414 -- 415. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New
Delhi.
Soemarwoto 0. 1987. Homegardens: a traditional agroforestry system
with a promising future. In: Steppler H.A. and Nair P.K.R. (eds),
Agroforestry: A decade of development, pp 157 -- 170. ICRAF, Nairobi.
Soini E. 2005. Changing livelihoods on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro,
Tanzania: challenges and opportunities in the Chagga homegarden
system. Agroforest Syst 64: 157 -- 167.
Tesfaye Abebe, Wiersum, K.F., Bongers, F. and Sterck, F. 2006.
Diversity and dynamics in homegardens of southern Ethiopia. In: Kumar
B.M. and Nair P.K.R. (eds), Tropical homegardens: A time-tested
example of sustainable agroforestry, pp 123 -- 142. Springer Science,
Dordrecht.
Thaman R.R., Elevitch CR. and Kennedy J. 2006. Urban and homegarden
agroforestry in the Pacific islands: current status and future
prospects. In: Kumar B.M. and Nair P.K.R. (eds), Tropical
homegardens: A time-tested example of sustainable agroforestry, pp 25
--41. Springer Science, Dordrecht.
Vogl CR. and Vogl-Lukasser B. 2003. Tradition, dynamics and
sustainability of plant species composition and management in
homegardens on organic and non-organic small scale farms in Alpine
Eastern Tyrol, Austria. Biol Agric Hortic 21: 349 -- 366.
Wenhua L. (ed.). 2001. Integrated farming systems at different
scales. In: Agro-ecological farming systems in China, Chapter 12, pp
201 -- 252. UNESCO Man and Biosphere Series 26, Partheon Publishing,
New York.
Westmacott RN. 1992. African-American gardens and yards in the rural
south. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN, l98p.
Wiersum K.F. 1982. Tree gardening and taungya in Java: Examples of
agroforestry techniques in the humid tropics. Agroforest Syst 1: 53
-- 70.
Wiersum K.F. 2006. Diversity and change in homegarden cultivation in
Indonesia. In: Kumar B.M. and Nair P.K.R. (eds), Tropical
homegardens: A time-tested example of sustainable agroforestry, pp 13
-- 24. Springer Science, Dordrecht.
Workman SW., Bannister M.E. and Nair P.K.R. 2003. Agroforestry
potential in the southeastern United States: Perceptions of
landowners and extension professionals. Agroforest Syst 59: 73 -- 83.
Yamada M. and Osaqui H.M.L. 2006. The role of homegardens for
agroforestry development: Lessons from Tome-Açu, a Japanese-Brazilian
settlement in the Amazon. In: Kumar B.M. and Nair P.K.R. (eds),
Tropical homegardens: A time-tested example of sustainable
agroforestry, pp 299 -- 316. Springer Science, Dordrecht.
Zhaohua Z., Mantang C., Shiji W. and Youxu J. (eds). 1991.
Agroforestry systems in China. Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing,
and International Development Research Centre, Singapore, 2l6p.
::::::::::::::
ORIGINAL SOURCE
This article was excerpted with the kind permission of the authors
and publisher from:
Nair P.K.R., and Kumar B.M. 2006. Introduction. In: B.M. Kumar and
P.K.R. Nair (eds.). Tropical Homegardens: A Time-Tested Example of
Sustainable Agroforestry, pp 1-10. © 2006 Springer, Dordrecht, The
Netherlands.
To purchase this excellent reference text, please visit Springer at
<http://www.springeronline.com> and search for "homegarden"
::::::::::::::
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
P.K. Ramachandran Nair is Distinguished Professor of Agroforestry and
Director of the Center for Subtropical Agroforestry at the University
of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA. He has been a
founder-scientist at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi,
Kenya for about 10 years. Dr. Nair is a leading world authority and a
pioneering researcher and educator in agroforestry. He was the
Editor-in-Chief of Agroforestry Systems journal from 1995 to 2005,
and the chairman of the 1st World Congress of Agroforestry, Orlando,
Florida, USA, 2004. He has authored and edited a large number of
publications including the textbook "An Introduction to
Agroforestry." His web site is
<http://sfrc.ifas.ufl.edu/faculty/nair> and e-mail address:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
B. Mohan Kumar is Head of the Department of Silviculture &
Agroforestry at Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala, India. Dr.
Kumar's research interests primarily relate to the functional
dynamics of tropical agroforestry systems and the effects of forest
management practices on ecosystem processes, particularly nutrient
cycling and vegetation dynamics. He has contributed to research and
education worldwide in forest ecosystems, nutrient cycling,
plantation silviculture, nursery technology, and agroforestry. His
e-mail address is: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
::::::::::::::
WEB LINKS
Resource centre on Urban Agriculture and Forestry (RUAF) facilitates
urban agriculture projects with active involvement of all local
stakeholders (excellent full-text publications and links page):
<http://www.ruaf.org>
Cornell University homegarden resource:
<http://www.css.cornell.edu/ecf3/Web/new/AF/homeGardens.html>
Eldis Food Security Resource Guide: <http://www.eldis.org/food/>
"Do Tropical Homegardens Elude Science, or Is It the Other Way
Round?" by P. K. R. Nair examines strategies for studying ecological
and economic unknowns of time-tested multispecies systems.
Republished online with kind permission of the author at:
<http://www.agroforestry.net/articles/nairhg.html>.
::::::::::::::
RELATED EDITIONS OF THE OVERSTORY
The Overstory #147--Major Themes of Tropical Homegardens
The Overstory #142--Urban Trees and Forests
The Overstory #141--Edible Leaves
The Overstory #136--Underutilised Indigenous Fruit Trees
The Overstory #128--Wild Foods in Agricultural Systems
The Overstory #109--Cultural Landscapes
The Overstory #99--Grey Water for Trees and Landscape
http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory99.html
The Overstory #87--Urban Forestry
http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory87.html
The Overstory #64--Tropical Homegardens
http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory64.html
The Overstory #53--Nontimber Forest Products--An Introduction
http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory53.html
The Overstory #51--Protecting and Expanding Traditional Agroforests in the
Pacific
http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory51.html
The Overstory #46--Human Health and Agroecosystems
http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory46.html
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