The objectives of this programme are to improve the daily diet of children, especially through the introduction of vegetables, by building greenhouses in selected rural schools of the Infant Jesus Sisters and in families who request them.
The school greenhouses have the function of an educational tool and have become laboratories for teachers and students to strengthen their agricultural knowledge. Rapid harvests were obtained for the different vegetable species. This innovative experience has raised awareness among teachers, children and parents about the importance of eating vegetables.
Motivated by the success of this experiment, some parents asked to have a greenhouse at home. We managed to build 38 school greenhouses and 350 family greenhouses.
The stages of implementation
An in-depth study was carried out beforehand to define the various elements to be taken into account in vegetable production (soil, seeds, fertiliser, watering, etc.). Teachers, schoolchildren (boys and girls), parents and community members received training on balanced nutrition, greenhouse horticulture, vermicomposting, etc.
Schools as training vehicles
Schools proved to be an effective channel for promoting the project and contributing to awareness of the importance of greenhouses and healthy eating by integrating the training into their curricula. The young people, both boys and girls, were very receptive to the novelty and adopted new eating habits, which gradually reduced gastrointestinal problems and skin diseases.
The organisation of the families
In the families, the greenhouse project became a community food security project. They created production committees, which were later formed into an association, and now number 240 families who are asking for help from local authorities to continue their work.