Combating global warming, providing food fresh from the Earth, and making the place look good, plus a whole day free of classroom lessons… the pupils who spent a day last week with Umthathi Training Project must have thought they were in paradise.
The 107 pupils from the Seventh Day Adventist Higher Primary School in Tantyi, along with teachers and members of the community, took part in a training day at the school on Thursday.
Combating global warming, providing food fresh from the Earth, and making the place look good, plus a whole day free of classroom lessons… the pupils who spent a day last week with Umthathi Training Project must have thought they were in paradise.
The 107 pupils from the Seventh Day Adventist Higher Primary School in Tantyi, along with teachers and members of the community, took part in a training day at the school on Thursday.
Umthathi school organic gardening facilitator, Xolani Mountain taught pupils how to do permaculture using compost, wet newspapers and grass.
“I want children to go and teach their communities how to green their back yards,” said Mountain.
He also told pupils that if they grew enough vegetables, they could sell them.
Indigenous plant facilitator, Zolani Zondani, told the children that 80% of pills were derived from herbs and mentioned some of the indigenous plants used by traditional healers.
For example, Artemesia ("wormwood") was used to reduce fever; Aloe ferox was used for stomach ailments and Cotyledon orbiculata ("pig's ear") was used to treat ear infections.
“By planting herbs we are also fighting against global warming and climate change,” Zondani said.
Spekboom, for example, absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stored it in its roots.
Grade 5 pupil Siyasanga Mdoko couldn't contain her excitement at what she'd learnt.
“I want to be the owner of a farm so that I can sell food to the shops,” she said – but it turns out she's already a dedicated gardener. “I have my back yard garden at home and it gives me healthy food.”
She said even if people didn't have jobs, they could make work for themselves by creating and tending gardens.
And with his eye firmly on the finances, Lolonga Tali, the school's economic management science teacher, told the children, “We want to green the school so that we can sell our products and make a profit.
“Planting will help during economic crises, like these days, because we will eat from our gardens.” Tali explained that the skills day had targeted pupils from grades 5 and 6 because they needed to learn about gardening from a young age.
If all the children in Makana learned the value of growing plants, perhaps it really would be paradise – a green one.
