Timor-Leste is a half Island country with a total population of 1.2 million people; it is geographically situated between Asia and the Pacific region. It is a tropical country and 80 per cent of its population live in rural areas. Agriculture, fishery and forestry are the main economical mainstays.

In 2013, the Ministry of Education of Timor-Leste decided to reform its national curriculum for Basic Education from grade one to six. Permaculture/Agroecology school gardens had been part of the discipline of Arts and Culture. The organization behind this movement of Permaculture/Agroecology is Permatil (Permaculture Timor-Leste), which was established in 2002. This school garden program now became part of formal education of Timor-Leste. 1415 schools have been targeted to introduce school gardens across the territory of Timor-Leste. The main reason for introducing school gardens is to help teachers and students learn how to grow a variety of seasonal food crops that can contribute to the school feeding program, shifting from passive learning inside classrooms into activities outside the classroom, while providing beauty to the school landscaping. School students and communities learn how to copy the model into their home garden to improve health and nutrition of the wider family.