Food Resilience Champions
Urban farming training and seed kits for 30 households growing their own food.
1. Description
The deepest form of food security is not receiving — it is growing. When a family can step onto their balcony and harvest fresh spinach for tonight's dal, something shifts. Not just in their nutrition. In their sense of self.
Food Resilience Champions is MAZANYA's urban farming initiative for families with even the smallest outdoor space — a balcony, a verandah, a shared rooftop corner. Over 8 weeks, participants learn to set up kitchen and terrace gardens, receive Seed Starter Kits, and join a WhatsApp-based community of growers supported by MAZANYA volunteers.
This is not just gardening. It is the psychological shift from dependent to capable — and the most cost-effective nutrition intervention we run.
2. Action
For Donors
| Contribution | Impact |
|---|---|
| ₹3,000 | Sponsor 1 complete Seed Starter Kit for 1 household |
| ₹30,000 | Sponsor kits for 10 households |
| ₹90,000 | Sponsor all 30 pilot households — full program funding |
For Volunteers
- Become a Garden Mentor — bi-weekly visits to assigned households
- Manage the WhatsApp support group for enrolled families
- Help facilitate the 8-week training cohort sessions
- Document progress with photos for MAZANYA's impact reports
For CSR Partners
- Brand the Seed Starter Kit with your company name — a tangible, photographable impact moment
- Sponsor a full cohort of 30 households as a named initiative
"A seed costs ₹10. The confidence it grows — priceless."
Sponsor a Kit → | Become a Garden Mentor →
3. Impact
EXPECTED IMPACT — 6-MONTH PILOT PROJECTIONS
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Households in Cohort | 30 households |
| Training Duration | 8 weeks per cohort |
| Kit Contents | Pots, soil mix, palak/dhaniya/methi seeds, manual |
| Gardens Established | 30 kitchen/terrace gardens |
| Mentor Visits | Bi-weekly throughout pilot |
| Nutritional Impact | Daily fresh chemical-free leafy greens |
| Psychological Impact | Improved self-reliance scores (endline survey) |
Why Leafy Greens?
Spinach, coriander, and fenugreek are fast-growing (harvest in 3–4 weeks), nutrient-dense (iron, folate, Vitamin A), culturally familiar, and used daily in Indian cooking. Families see results — and eat them — within weeks.
4. Resources
Seed Starter Kit Contents
- 3 growing pots/containers (reusable)
- Organic soil mix (5 kg)
- Seed packets: Spinach (Palak), Coriander (Dhaniya), Fenugreek (Methi)
- Illustrated training manual in Hindi/Punjabi
- MAZANYA helpline card for troubleshooting
Support Structures
- 8-week structured training cohort (group sessions)
- WhatsApp mentor group with MAZANYA volunteers
- Bi-weekly field visits from Field Associates
5. Sub-Programs
- → Nurture Circle — Champions learn to cook their harvest for maximum nutritional benefit.
- → Community Scale-Up — Graduates become peer trainers for the next cohort — self-replicating model that costs only seeds and pots, not trainer hours.
6. Campaign Results
🟢 Pilot Status: Active — 30-Household Cohort
- Program Budget: ₹90,000 (₹3,000 × 30 households)
- Cost of Fresh Greens Post-Harvest: Effectively ₹0 — garden is self-sustaining
- 2028 Vision: 1,000 kitchen gardens across Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula Tricity