By Ron Brenneman | Project Leader
The bumper crop we spoke of in our last report is showing it fruits. 60 crates of tomatos were the result of our Ag-Business student project in greenhouse #2. 6 crates were delivered to the school cafeteria for student lunches and the remaining 54 were sold locally. The initial goal was to produce 50 crates of tomatos, which was exceeded by 20%. Even so, the sales and distribution plan worked out perfectly, with no loss of produce for lack of market placement. Cash income produced by the project came in just under one thousand dollars.
Rodrigo is 16 years old and a first-year Ag-Business student. Rodrigo says, "The truth is that I learn much more through practice than studying theory in the classroom. We learned how to cultivate tomatos, to detect when the plants need nutrition, when they need pruning and how to control disease."
For Navidad, 15 years old, "What I really liked was learning about crop management. It is a beautiful experience to watch the plants giving fruit and to know that I had an important role in making this happen."
Karina, 17 years old, adds "This has been a very gratifying experiencia for me. What I found most interesting is learning how a plant gets sick through disease or insects, something I would have not learned without this experience."
Mario, 16 years old, "For me, this was a very nice and fun experience. Through this project we learned the process of how to cultivate tomatos."
The success reached with this project is very gratifying, not just with the amount of tomatos produced, but with the experience formed within each individual of the group of students. As they continue with their studies and practice, our goal is to assist them in developing their potencial and unique focus for life.
It must be noted, as well, this crop came off during drought conditions. Eastern El Salvador is suffering badly from the effects of climate change this year. The spring corn planting was a complete failure throughout the region. Learning how to manage food production in controlled greenhouse conditions will have a positive longterm effect in our communities.
Thank you for your support to this project. Please spread the word to other who may be interested in this approach to education.
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