Rabeka Kunene used to walk for many kilometers along a dirt road in rural Thembisa. Barefoot, she would arrive at the disheveled
school, and spend the day learning on a rock, under the shade of a tree. With no water and sanitation.
But on one particular day, things turned out to be quite different. Their class teacher prepared a special lesson that would introduce the children to a new world of health and hope!
Very soon, words such as “trench-digging”, “mulching”, “pest-control”, and “alternative crop growing”, would mean to these children: fun, learning, challenges and awareness of their potential!
Spending only an hour a day, with spades in hand, Rabeka and her classmates began planting seeds and growing food. And the results were spectacular!
Initially, this poor school was lacking educational resources like videos and posters. But the method of
training “Food
Gardening” was easy and accessible from the very start!
The young food gardeners were shown how to make use of their surrounding resources. They were shown easy and accessible methods. For example, measuring out a garden bed the length and width of a door - which is something everybody can relate to. And this makes it very possible for children and people living in small areas, to find just enough space to grow their very own!
The children are shown how to make watering cans from old tins and packets, how to dig trenches, how to mulch, how to use the schools rubbish as compost, how to save and use water, how to rotate their crops and how to protect them from pests. They learn how to grow food in old tires, old baths, in containers and plastic bags. They are even taught about easy and cheap non-poisonous pest control, inter-planting, companion planting, using low cost seeds and about water conservation.
The basic implemented for this project is based on tried and tested, sound organic agricultural principles. Training manuals and material support the training in Food Gardening and trained staff the have passion and commitment to help satisfy food security needs.
The N.G.O’s have a vision of improving the health and quality of people’s lives by helping them to help themselves. So after assessing where exactly the school is situated, the gardening tools they may already have, and access to water etc, the training program commences.
The technically skilled field staff demonstrate firstly to the teachers, how to build an organic food garden from start to end. There is a short lecture followed by hands-on participation. The teachers need to acquire the skills and knowledge first, as they will be the ones to pass it on to the school children.
The trick is to get the teachers really excited about the prospects of food gardening, so that they will naturally transfer their enthusiasm onto the children. They are given a plant guide and benefit from an entire year of site visits and support by the N.G.O - which ensures project sustainability.
The “Food Garden” has an income generating component, a feeding scheme, and therefore an impact on the education and health of the learners and the community. The school can supply food for the learners and generate income for their school-fund.
Food Gardening educates the children and changes their perceptions on health and poverty!