Breaking ground in the garden! Pueblo a Pueblo begins working with the teachers of Panabaj school to commence Santiago Atitlán’s first Organic School Garden program…
Last week marked many ‘firsts’ for the school garden, as progress towards the goal of a late-February planting day is well underway here in Santiago Atitlán. The organic school garden, which we hope will reach over 500 Panabaj students in the course of two years, aims to equip the children of Santiago Atitlán with the knowledge of how to grow food organically in a region where heavy pesticide-use is the norm, the nutrition necessary for students to be healthy and happy in a place where child malnutrition is all too common, and the experience essential for students to be able to replicate what they’re learning in the school garden in their very own homes, as many Atitlán households struggle each day in securing enough nutrition for their family.
Recognizing that the teachers will need to be active participants and leaders in the program in order for it to be successful in the long-term, we commenced the first of our weekly trainings last week which we hope will make the teachers of Panabaj garden experts by the end of the training program, able to carry on the garden work and lessons for many years to come. As fifteen teachers from the Panabaj school gathered last week for the first training day, led by our garden coordinator Adolfo, what began as a basic introduction into the principles of organic agriculture quickly turned into a lively and heated discussion on the health of Lake Atitlan (which is currently experiencing excessive growth of cyanobacteria, making the water unsafe for use), inquiries into the effects of heavy agro-chemical use in the region on the social and environmental health of the pueblo, and questions into the logic of the region’s export-led agriculture as many within the town, including students at Panabaj, have little or nothing to eat. The discussion concluded with the hope that the organic school garden in Panabaj could be a model for the community and the beginning to a more sustainable, healthier future for Santiago Atitlan (with a return to more traditional farming practices).
The first work day took place the following day, as 25 teachers and community members of all ages gathered at the garden site in the morning. After the Panabaj school principal, Salvador, bestowed his blessing on the project and the land, the group got busy preparing the soil, removing stumps, collecting trash, and digging holes for what will be the fence. We’re working now on installing a drip-irrigation system (after having successfully secured water rights from the municipal center last week), constructing our fence, starting our compost, continuing with teacher trainings, and hope to begin lessons and work in the garden with the students as soon as next week.
For more information on the program please visit http://www.puebloapueblo.org/ourprojects/index.php and check the blog regularly for more updates from the garden!
