Article in Nutrition & Dietetics, Dietitians Association of Australia. 

About the author: Karen E. Charlton, PhD, APD, RPHNutrKaren E. Charlton, PhD, APD, RPHNutr Associate Professor, School of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong

This part of the manual brings parts 1 and 2 together with your own knowledge and experience. It will guide you to create a personalised design for achieving sustainable nutrition and a better future. You’ll draw maps and sketches as you make your plans to make the most of all the resources that you have now, as well as building up resources for the future.

This part of the manual is about Natural Systems and Sustainability. You will learn about the Nature Cycle and the Water Cycle and an understanding about Soil Fertility and the benefits of Diversity in Nature will develop. You will be introduced to Permaculture designs and sustainable living practices. You will find out about renewable and non-renewable resources and begin to understand the wider issues of sustainability. This book can be used in your homes, offices, schools, communities, farms and gardens. You can discuss the ideas in it with others so that eventually your whole nation designs and lives sustainably.

This manual is for people who eat, grow or buy food and who want to improve their own lives, their community and the environment that they live in. It has been written for, and by, people living in Malawi, but the ideas in it can be applied anywhere in the world. It is for all people, everywhere, but most of all it is for you. Many people in Malawi have used this manual with great results and, if you use these ideas, you will also be able to:

• Improve your diet and health
• Save money that was spent on food, medicines and chemicals
• Double or triple yields and harvests (or even more!)
• Reduce the amount of watering in gardens and orchards
• Reduce the amount of work done on your land and in your home
• Have healthier plants and animals
• Reduce infertile and unproductive areas of land
• Use free resources to improve soil and water in your area

In order to impact on the nutritional outcomes, there is a need to focus on nutrition-sensitive agriculture. Nutrition-sensitive agriculture involves the incorporation of nutritional concerns into the design and implementation of agricultural policies, projects and investments, targeting nutritionally vulnerable groups with these investments and particularly focusing on women and increasing year-round access to diverse, nutrient-dense foods. Development agents (DAs) or agriculture extension workers (AEWs) are at the forefront of the support available to farmers for improved agricultural production and opportunities to increase income. This nutrition-sensitive agriculture training aims at building the knowledge and skill of DAs in nutrition-sensitive agriculture so that they can promote agricultural and related practices that have the potential to maximize nutritional benefits.