{"id":28198,"date":"2026-01-26T10:59:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T10:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/?p=28198"},"modified":"2026-01-27T04:03:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T04:03:15","slug":"growing-vegetables-changing-a-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/2026\/01\/growing-vegetables-changing-a-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing Vegetables\u2014Changing a Life!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zarghona, 35 years old, mother of three children from Narang district in Kunar, transformed her life through a simple act: growing vegetables.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three years ago, she joined a women\u2019s agricultural training program and planted a small vegetable garden at home. She says, \u201cI wanted to grow fresh vegetables for my family and not depend on the market.\u201d For her, the garden is more than just a source of food\u2014it has become a symbol of self-reliance and a fresh start for her family.<\/p>\n

She grows vegetables like tomatoes, eggplants, spinach, and chili peppers, and she also has grape and orange trees that are now bearing fruit. Zarghona tends to her garden twice a day\u2014after the Morning Prayer until 9 a.m., and again in the late evenings.<\/p>\n

Her hard work has paid off. \u201cNow fresh vegetables come straight from our garden to our home,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen the harvest is bigger, I sell the extra and earn about 3,000 Afghanis each season.\u201d She credits her family for helping her keep this work going: \u201cMy husband encourages me, and my children sometimes help with watering and harvesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, her journey hasn\u2019t been without challenges. Limited water, insect infestation on crops and the lack of good-quality seeds often reduce her yield and income. Still, she hopes that support from Kunar\u2019s Department of Agriculture\u2014like better water access, quality seeds, and pest-control supplies\u2014could help women farmers earn more. \u201cBefore, we relied only on my husband\u2019s income, but now I can contribute too,\u201d she says. \u201cWomen in other villages are also interested in starting similar gardens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Zarghona plans to expand her garden and grow ornamental flowers alongside her vegetables. She believes that with the right resources, not only can her family\u2019s needs be met, but she could also sell more products in the market. \u201cI hope the day comes when women\u2019s product reaches the market on a larger scale,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Finally, she has an inspiring message for other women: \u201cStart with a small garden\u2014you\u2019ll see how it can change your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Kunar, agriculture is still one of the main sources of income, and women are taking a bigger role than ever before. Home gardens and small-scale farming help them become more self-reliant. Even though challenges like water shortages, pests, and poor-quality seeds remain, many women are determined to support their families and make a difference.<\/p>\n

Reporter: Shaima Sediqi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zarghona, 35 years old, mother of three children from Narang district in Kunar, transformed her life through a simple act: growing vegetables.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":28200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[990,984,16,977,24,29],"tags":[207,1415,1416,1418],"class_list":["post-28198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-news","category-report","category-women-rights","category-women","category-stories","tag-women","tag-growing-vegetables","tag-zarghona","tag-agricultural"],"views":37,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28199,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28198\/revisions\/28199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}