Project name: Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition (FAARM)
Institutions: Helen Keller International (HKI) and University of Heidelberg
Country: Bangladesh
Source: Thalia Sparling/University of Heidelberg
Description: FAARM is a cluster randomized controlled trial that investigates the potential of a food-based dietary diversification strategy to reduce undernutrition among women and young children and improve the status of women within the household.
FAARM’s primary intervention group consists of young married women aged 15 to 30 years, a population that traditionally lacks power and status in Bangladeshi households. The intervention, based on HKI’s enhanced homestead food production (HFP) model, involves training rural women’s groups in vegetable gardening, fruit tree production, poultry rearing, nutrition, and hygiene.
The project aims to:
- Improve women’s status in the household through asset transfer, control of productive resources, and skill building
- Create a supportive environment for women’s empowerment by engaging men and elders in facilitated discussions in which women’s contribution to decision-making in the household is valued and promoted as a pathway to improved health and wellbeing for all
- Raise awareness of gender inequities through training farmers on nutrition and gender
Project goal
