Pastor Samwel came to Tanna Island as a missionary, and pastors a small community church in Lounamilo village where he lives with his wife and four children.   

Like most people in Vanuatu, Samwel is a skilled gardener. In fact, over 80% of the population rely on growing their own limited variety of crops for food and income. 

Nasituan was able to add to his knowledge and has trained him in advanced composting, food security techniques and coffee growing. He is now employed by them to train other farmers around Vanuatu.  

“Coffee growing helped pay for my children’s school fees and helped me receive the support I needed to care for my child who has a severe disability,” Ps Samwel says.  

As well as looking after his own children, he has been able to pay for the school fees of his niece, whose father died. It has also enabled him to continue serving his congregation's needs. 

But in 2023, Samwel lost 200 mature coffee trees and other crops, when twin cyclones Judy and Kevin hit Tanna within 48 hours of each other. This had a devastating impact on his family’s income.  

However, thanks to support from Nasituan he was able to sustain his family during this time. 

“Cyclone-affected farming families were able to access coffee seedlings through Tearfund’s recovery project. I have replanted and the seedlings are growing well.” 

One year on, Samwel is back on his feet, thanks to techniques taught by Nasituan. Samwel now has 11 different crops in his 1ha plot of land including taro, kumara, cabbage, banana, tree nuts and cassava – producing a variety of nutrition and diversifying his income source. 

Farmers involved in the Nasituan co-op are also growing vanilla and peanuts.  

Nasituan has set up a processing facility on Tanna to help local farmers sell products like roasted peanuts, vanilla, and dried fruits to tourists and locals.  

Peanuts are a crop of choice because they grow quickly (just three months from planting to harvest), provide much-needed protein to people’s diets, and can be sold in places like hotels and retail markets. 

Vanilla takes longer to grow—about three years—but it's resistant to cyclones. It complements other crops, lasts a long time on the shelf, and is ideal for both local sales and export because it's lightweight and doesn’t cost much to ship compared to its value. 

Products like dried fruit and peanuts not only provide food security for locals, but also tap into commercial markets, bringing tourist money into rural areas which boosts the local economy.