There is a well-known proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” But an FAO-led project in the Philippines is proving just the opposite: that sometimes it takes a child – or children – to raise a village.
Around 80 km from Manila, on the south side of the province of Laguna, three communities have taken the lead from their young people in transforming their elementary schools – and, in one case, a wasteland – into small-scale gardens in order to supplement the food supply of local residents and schools.
It all began in 2017, with a partnership between FAO and a local NGO Yakap Kalikasan Tungo sa Kaunlaran ng Pilipinas, Inc. (also known as Yakap Kalikasan). The students of the three schools visited an organic farm where they were involved in sowing, cultivating and harvesting organic vegetables.
Besides basic gardening methods, there were demonstrations on composting, vertical gardeningand botanical pest control. A delicious lunch was prepared using farm produce, thus planting the seed of an idea in the minds of these potential future farmers and agronomists.
A local garden is a simple yet powerful benefit to a community because it not only provides food for the community but also helps in developing a sustainable approach to food production and consumption.
The children could see endless possibilities beyond the simple purpose of using land for growing their own food. Brainstorming sessions generated a feast of innovative ideas, from making aromatic candles, providing salads to sell to local walkers and even a schedule to clean up the polluted lake shore.
Kapayapaan Integrated School (KIS), one of the project’s beneficiaries, started to grow its own organic kitchen garden and vertical wall in its grounds. Here students cultivate their own lettuce, cucumbers and beans, growing marigolds alongside the vegetables. These saffron-coloured flowers serve as a natural insect repellent and keep the crops safe from insects until harvest time.
“We are promoting organic gardening. Our harvests supply our school’s feeding programme while the excess produce is sold through our youth organization,” reports one of the young growers of the school garden initiative.