children to feed, and like a growing number of Solomon Islanders who have chosen to live in the capital, she sometimes finds it difficult to make ends meet. The population of Honiara is growing at a rate of 10 per cent a year—almost three times the national birth rate—and the need to import food from the outer rural areas has pushed prices beyond the budgets of average wage-earners. But, while some have cut back on purchases of staple fruits and vegetables, Kally has made a determined effort to maintain a balanced family diet by 'farming' her back yard. She has planted cabbages, tomatoes and beans and has not had to compromise at the dinner-table, but it hasn't been easy. The thin topsoil in the White River area where she lives is waterlogged most of the year, and Kally has had to improvise. Her garden is a collection of old rubber tyres, biscuit tins, fish floats and any other container that will hold a rich home-made compost and a few plants. Using natural fertilizer and ash to control the worms, she has established a steady rotation of vegetables so that there is something ready to be picked every day. A neighbour, Evelyn Hu, took a different approach. She dug a long, wide trench alongside her house, filled it with vegetable cuttings and covered it over with soil and a layer of coconut husks to keep the ground cool. She put up a fence to keep out the chickens, and planted corn, beans, taro, snake gourd, tomatoes and slippery cabbage. "My children like to eat them straight from the garden", she says. Kally and Evelyn are graduates of Honiara's unique Sup-sup Garten programme, which sponsors daily workshops on small-scale mixed-food gardening for women. The pro- gramme was initiated in 1986 by Dr.
**Analysis**
The text highlights the challenges faced by Kally, a mother living in Honiara, in making ends meet due to the growing cost of food. It also showcases her and her neighbor Evelyn's efforts to maintain a balanced diet by engaging in small-scale gardening, using innovative methods to overcome the challenges of the local soil. This suggests that the text is primarily focused on the daily struggles of individuals and their efforts to improve their living conditions.

**Category**
Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Health