Agroecological Gardens in Schools in Argentina

In our commitment with food security for the most vulnerable communities, and with the environment, we developed the project "Our School Nourishes Us" to promote agroecological food production. We want to strengthen and revalue green gardens as a strategic educational place to favor education with a comprehensive approach and improve nutrition in children and adolescents. 

During the 2022, online training sessions were held in order to teach strategies for the installation and management of Agroecological Garden on schools and other educational and communitarian institutions in the provinces of the Argentine Gran Chaco: Salta, Jujuy, Chaco, Formosa, Santa Fe, Tucumán and Santiago del Estero. Schools, Special School for Children and Adolescents with Disabilities; communitarian nutrition organization drug addiction centers for recovery participated actively in each session.

Every encounter was focused on recommendations and shared experiences of good practices regarding techniques and strategies to reach the involvement of students and the entire educational community, including families and teachers, in the management and development of the garden. The vision shared by all attendees was: "a garden of all and for all"-  we want it to be the heart of the institution, where collective learning and teamwork takes place with shared responsibility and contact with nature, so that we take care of the environment and it gives us quality food in return. Ideas economically accessible and with components of recycling, games and identitarian colors of the educational community were designed so everybody could build and put them into practice.  

We highlight the importance of incorporating the Kokue Mobile Applicationin the Project "Our School Nourishes Us", a digital tool, designed and developed by ACDI. "Kokue" generates remote assistance to promote and enhance agroecological food production; accompanies the user in their process of structuring the garden and monitoring the crops; provides technical information and users also can interact with each other in a social forum: Kokue generates community and sustainability to this type of initiatives.

From ACDI we are convinced that gardens as part of school experiences are a valuable tool, because it is a practical and direct way in which students of all ages can see the results of their decisions and daily actions. In addition, this space favors the development of skills, social bonds and personal growth. By conducting workshops and classes using the school garden as an educational resource, the participation of students is achieved through activities of observation, dialogue, creation, research, formulation of hypotheses and results.

Join us in this powerful initiative! Community, Agroecology and Tic’s all brought together in favor of integral development for everybody!