A woman farmer with freshly picked pumpkin. Unlike other vegetables, the pumpkin does not have to be picked and eaten immediately, so it is a good food for times when nothing else is available. Tips of the plants can also be cooked as a green vegetable. Improved methods of cooking fresh vegetables were promoted by the project. - - Increasing Nutrition and Fuel Resources. The coral atolls of the South Pacific have limited resources and vegetation to support their growing populations. To increase food and fuel resources on the nine small atolls of Tuvalu, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), assisted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), helped a women's committee carry out a teaching programme on techniques for growing nutritious vegetables and conserving fuelwood. Since there is virtually no soil on coral atolls and the coral is very alkaline, the project introduced trench cultivation. Ditches were dug and filled with layers of coconut husk, old tin cans, animal manure and coconut peat from the tree bases, to provide suitable beds for vegetables. The project also promoted an improved woodstove and cooking methods for conserving nutrients in food.