text: Helen Paton, who was the Town Council Medical Officer at the time. Dr. Paton was concerned at the growing number of patients with nutrition-related diseases and conducted a survey. She found that child malnutrition was rising, together with 'white men's diseases' including diabetes, hypertension, heart prob- lems, obesity and dental caries— problems which were associated withimported foreign foods and a breakdown in traditional agriculture. Dr. Paton rallied some nurses and other concerned residents and started a gardening club. They called it Sup-sup after a local stew, and invited women to join. The Sup-sup gardeners soon discovered what many traditional farmers had known all along. The hard coral-based soils are thin, dry and vulnerable to erosion, and most rural people practise shifting culti- vation rather than persevere with one patch of ground season after season. Promoters of the garden concept also found that squatters and renters were reluctant to develop land which was not their own. The Honiara Town Council provided land for the gardening club on a hillside near the centre of town, and UNICEF was asked to provide technical support for classes on cultivation and nutrition. The land was steep and arid—typical of the Solomon Islands and therefore ideal as a demonstration site. Classes were popularized through radio advertisements, a song competition, posters, a magazine called Sup-Sup Nius. and notice- boards in clinics. "We try to share skills on terracing, crop rotation, natural pest control, mulching, composting and container gardening, which help make the best use of small areas", says Project Officer Sarah Osiabu. "These techniques allow gardeners to use the same land over and over again, a concept unfamiliar to Solomon Islanders. We try to encourage people to grow nutritious vegetables and not just fancy crops. Our slippery cabbage, for example, is morenutritious and easier to tend than Chinese cabbage."
analysis: The text describes a project aimed at improving nutrition and health in the Solomon Islands by promoting sustainable gardening practices. The project involves education and training on techniques such as terracing, crop rotation, and composting, as well as providing technical support and resources. The project's focus on nutrition and health, as well as its emphasis on sustainable agriculture practices, suggests that it falls under the categories of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, and Health.