Home gardens

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The trees of home gardens are visible in this aerial photograph in Indonesia (J.E.M. Arnold)

Home gardens, also known as forest gardens, are found in humid areas. They use inter-cropping to cultivate trees, crops, and livestock on the same land. In Kerala in South India as well as in northeastern India, they are the most common form of land use; they are also found in Indonesia, One example combines coconut, black pepper, cocoa and pineapple. In many African countries, for example Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, gardens are wide spread in rural, periurban and urban areas and they play an essential role for food security. Most well known are the Chaga or Chagga gardens on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. They are an excellent example for agroforestry systems. In many countries women are the main actors in home gardening and food is mainly produced for subsistence.

These gardens exemplify polyculture, and conserve much crop genetic diversity and heirloom plants that are not found in monocultures. There are now efforts to apply a similar concept in temperate climates (forest gardening).