We were thrilled to recently hold a three day permaculture training at Suubi Secondary School. The local team from Scope, which is connected to The St Jude Farming Institute that our students visited last year, were on hand to co-ordinate the activity. Students, teachers and parents spent the first day learning about the philosophy behind permaculture and the following two days planning and planting out the school compound with fruits trees and vegetables. It is exciting to think about what the compound will look like next year when I return; I am sure to see the students and teachers enjoying the food from all their hard work this week.
The students and teachers were then broken in to various groups to work in different areas of the school compound. This made the two days of practicals like a competition to see who could develop the best gardens. What a great idea.
The vocational training hall was the ideal place to hold the theoretical component of the training. Mugagga, from Scope, was inspirational as he explained the permaculture principals to students, teachers and parents all together.
The students and teachers were very keen once the practically component got underway. Firstly the paths leading in to each of the class rooms were set out so they will be easy accessible once the gardens become established.
The students and teachers were then broken in to various groups to work in different areas of the school compound. This made the two days of practicals like a competition to see who could develop the best gardens. What a great idea.
Small gardens were developed outside the dormitory where vegetables were planted for easy access for those staying in the dorm.
A mixture of fruit trees, pineapples and yams were planted at the front of the classroom structure.
Head master, Robert, planted a jack fruit tree and mangoes, paw paws and oranges will also be enjoyed by the students in the future.
One group of students worked together to develop a mandela garden.
Manure from the Suubi goat project was used on all of the garden beds to add nutrients to the soil.
Garden beds were then mulched and small water bottles added to make sure the newly planted seedlings don’t dry out.
And finally the students enjoyed watering in all the plants as the parents watched on.
The only challenge now will be to have enough water to make sure the plants can be well cared for while they are still young. Hopefully the ground water tank, which was donated by the 2017 Uganda marathon, will be finished sooner rather than later. After having dug to over 110 feet (by hand!) the team is finally bringing up damp soil, which they tell us means they are getting close to the water table.
The team of 4 men have been taking it in turns down the hole digging, while the others remain on top to wind up the soil. It is truly frightening to look down the hole; pitch black dark and they are also having to pump oxygen down to the person at the bottom.
Comments
Post a Comment