A community school for all (children) in Fiarenana

The concept of the school gardens also underwent a change for the new school year with the input of our new teachers. In keeping with the philosophy that our school is more than learning the ABC, this year’s focus will to be planting ‘things’ they can eat for their school breakfast. Cassava, sweet potatoes, corn and greens will be grown with the help of our gardeners, who will playing a more active role in the curriculum again working with our new teachers. The food will be cooked on the premises in our school’s improved cookstoves.

In our school in Fiadanana the school garden was moved behind the old school, right next to the new and expanded tree nursery. In Fiarenana the school garden is still on the other side of the small school house.

In anticipation of increased demand for tree seedlings since we started our improved cookstove project, we moved our tree nursery in both villages to the school grounds. This greatly increased the available space for the growing area for tree seedlings, allowing the gardeners to grow many more tree seedlings.

Moving the (tree) nursery to the school, has the additional benefit that the students can be directly involved with growing, tending, and watering all seedlings for the reforestation project. This direct involvement in growing seedlings for our reforestation is in addition to their school gardens, where they grow food to eat.

In the past decade our gardeners had the plant nursery right next to their respective house. They could keep a watchful eye on their seedlings, literally in the backyard. But by the same token, space was limited inside the village.

There is one thing we can’t do much about yet: the weather. Madagascar was at the time of moving the nursery in the school yard still in the dry season (which makes not such great photos). Our schoolgarden In Fiadanana has just been moved to its new location and since the new school year just started the teacher said: "Besides seeds in the ground, covered by dirt, there is not much to see yet"

Now to a bit of housekeeping:

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Links:

• The school garden's early beginnings
• School garden in 2009