SEED historic reports

SEED became the first recipient of Thatu funding in 2005, when we agreed to support 4 of the 12 schools for their ambitious 3 year Sustainable Schools Programme. This programme aimed to provide practical environmental training for teachers and learners through the creation of sustainable food and other gardens in school grounds.  On leaving the programme schools were to be given sufficient skills, organization development and physical systems to ensure a sustainable permaculture ‘living laboratory’ to aid delivery of the school curriculum.

                 The final schools graduated in mid 2008

Out of experience of this programme came a revised Organic Classroom Programme starting in January 2008 at 20 primary schools.  The exit strategy ensures that at the end of the three year programme there is a sustainable permaculture system in place providing for food security and serving as an education tool.  Linked to the permaculture systems is an entrepreneurial component which generates sufficient income from the garden to employ one community member, thereby ensuring the ongoing nurturing and maintenance of the school garden.

The benefits of the Organic programme are:

° Gardens are living learning laboratories for the delivery of  Outcomes Based Education.

° Permaculture food gardens provide nutritious food for school children (1.5 mil children age 1-9 suffer from malnutrition).

° School environments where waste is managed, water is conserved and soil is enriched are cleaner and healthier.

° Gardening as a metaphor for social change, learners realize the potential they have to affect their environments.

° Fresh, organic food increases awareness of the positive impact of good nutrition on health, especially with regard to HIV/AIDS.

° The gardens have led to a range of additional outreach projects like teaching other schools, parents and community members how to develop their own Permaculture food gardens.

° Garden-based entrepreneurial projects employ community members and ensure the sustainability of gardens

Organic Classroom Programme (Caravelle)

In 2008 Thatu committed to fund one school (Caravelle Primary in Mitchell’s Plain) through the first year of this programme. Initial work concentrated on setting up an outdoor classroom, constructing windbreaks and building up the sandy soil. As Caravelle is only 1 km from the sea these tasks are essential for the pupils and teachers to achieve any sort of long term success.

               Caravelle School at the start of 2009

The first six months of 2008 concentrated on setting up the infrastructure for the garden. This meant windbreaks of both indigenous plants and old tyres had to be built, along with an outdoor classroom to provide some shelter from sun, wind and rain. The boys of grade 5 built the benches to go into this. 

The soil also needed to be tested and prepared. Plants were grown to improve the nutrition in the soil, a design was developed and a plant nursery constructed.

                     Open air: the outdoor classroom

                       Never tired: the new windbreak

                   All a go: the plant nursery structure

After six months each school was assessed in order to decide, with the staff, what the best way forward was. 

After this, working with the teachers, both the food gardening and the education activities could develop. Staple crops such as mielies [maize], beans, squash, potatoes, and also salads, were planted. 

When a Thatu supporter visited the school and attended SEED’s open day in November 2008 she found children weeding, planting and enthusiastically watering, and visible early signs of crops.

       Digging in: the pupils worked hard on the scheme

                    Team time: and so did the teachers

Jacqueline Motsene, a Grade 4 teacher talked enthusiastically about the results achieved in the short period in which the children had been involved,

                     Enthused: Jacqueline Motsene

 “this garden is so important to us.......this is now where we bring our learning...there is always a link [to the garden]” 

Caravelle School passed the assessment SEED carry out using their Sustainability Index at the end of 2008. It joined the other five schools [out of the original nine] which in 2009 entered the second, intermediate year of the three year programme.

In the garden, they began by enriching the existing garden and expanding the space, incorporating an Orchard system. A small plant nursery may be developed in order to produce income to help sustainability.

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