Grahamstown schools are conspicuously absent from a permaculture competition organised by Food and Trees for Africa called Eduplant. The competition has a record 580 entries this year, a significant rise compared to last year’s 350 entries, but only eight schools from the Eastern Cape are competing.
Grahamstown schools are conspicuously absent from a permaculture competition organised by Food and Trees for Africa called Eduplant. The competition has a record 580 entries this year, a significant rise compared to last year’s 350 entries, but only eight schools from the Eastern Cape are competing.
Two hundred schools were visited around the country during a prejudging process and 70 were chosen as
finalists.
These schools will be represented at an event held at the end of September where they will present their permaculture food gardening projects to a panel of judges and attend a variety of workshops.
According to Chris Wild, the Food and Trees for Africa Eastern Cape coordinator, workshops are held in two year cycles and they try not to have a workshop in the same place.
“The last workshop was in the Albany area two years ago and we received one entry,” said Wild. He also said that the schools’ food gardens will help to supplement the government's feeding scheme. The judging is based on the following criteria:
•The entry shows that the school understands how to create a sustainable, food producing environment that conserves and manages naturalresources sustainably,
•The school has shown initiative by implementing a project, raising funds or finding assistance and information,
•The project will, or does, involve the maximum number of educators, learners, parents and other community members,
•The project is, or will be, integrated into the outcomesbased curriculum,
•The quality of the presentation to the adjudicators tat the awards event will be assessed.
The competition has excellent benefits for schools, learners, educators and parents as they gain income
from the production of the fruit and vegetables. Unemployed parents are involved in the gardening and food preparation effort.
