FAO.org

It is a simple methodology for teaching vulnerable children and young people  about farming and how to take care of themselves. It uses a “living classroom" approach in which the students observe the crops throughout the growing season  with the help of a facilitator. Agricultural topics are linked to life skills so that when  children talk about how to protect their plants from diseases they also learn how to  protect themselves from diseases and other adverse conditions. The school bui lds  the students’ self-confidence and problem solving skills by having them decide  for themselves what steps are required, for example, [...]

The AIDS epidemic is challenging all aspects of the development agenda. Many of the premises on which development interventions are based are no longer relevant. The disease has decimated sub-Saharan Africa's agricultural labour force and will continue to do so for generations, depleting the region of its food producers and farmers. Not only is the epidemic causing severe reversals in development gains, but it is making ‘typical’ development interventions impractical. Communities’ livelihoods are being permanently eroded and assets depleted with the reoccurring periods of sickness and death that the epidemic brings. Labour, a much valued human asset and the foundation of [...]