Supplementary fresh foods produce for a school feeding scheme

The Midlands Meander Education Project (MMEP) vision is to help Midlands’ schools nurture capable, confident, curious children who are sensitive to environmental issues, who have the resilience to cope with a changing world and are able to contribute positively to their communities.

OVERVIEW

South Africa is largely deemed a “food secure” nation, having the capacity to produce enough staple foods and to import foods, if needed, to meet the basic nutritional requirements of its population. Yet 30% of the population does not have constant access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food, which meets their dietary needs for a healthy life. The Midlands Meander Education Project (MMEP) will provide training in permaculture and related ecology topics as well as monitoring of an organic vegetable garden in a township school outside Howick, KwaZulu Natal. The twelve educators and 564 learners at Sifisishle School in Mpophomeni township will benefit from improved quantity and quality of food supply as well as gained knowledge of the environment. Since 2004 MMEP has provided curriculum support in 20 rural and peri-urban schools within the area of the Midlands Meander Tourist Route. Their focus is on regular, ongoing educator support through co-teaching in a wide range of areas to support the UNESCO Goal of Education for Sustainable Development. MMEP fieldworkers bring specialist knowledge, enthusiasm and a new dimension to learning, which they believe has a positive impact on the development of the 3000 learners participating in the programme.

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

• The project aims at reducing hunger and malnutrition at school level, which is an essential requirement for any child’s educational development.
• The training is based on the principle of “co-teaching”, where teachers will gain practical skills on food gardening and ecology at large, as well as be enabled to integrate knowledge into the new school curriculum.
• The food gardening training is based on environmentally-friendly organic principles.
• The selected target school has clearly shown its interest and care for environmental issues by successfully achieving Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa (WESSA) Eco-School status for the past four years.

EXPECTED LIFE CHANGE

An investment of R 56, 250 will enable:

• 7 educators to learn the theory and practice of organic vegetable farming necessary to run a successful vegetable garden as well as to integrate environmental principles into the school curriculum;
• 564 children will benefit from an improved daily nutritional intake as well as better learning on ecology and vegetable farming.

The estimated direct life change is R98.68 per person.

NEED

In South Africa, an estimated 1.5 million children suffer from malnutrition, 14 million people are vulnerable to food insecurity, and 43% of households suffer from food poverty. Food security and appropriate nutrition are also critical for individuals, households and communities affected by HIV and AIDS. The lack of a sufficient, sustained supply of nutritious food contributes to the progression of AIDS-related illnesses, and undermines adherence and response to antiretroviral therapy. At school level, children who are hungry cannot concentrate and perform.

Simultaneously, sustainable agricultural practices should be promoted in order to protect scarce water resources, reverse land degradation and ensure biodiversity.

STRATEGY

MMEP encourages the use of permaculture principles in the cultivation of school food gardens, which provides a means for learners to see ecology in action and motivates teachers and learners to develop a more holistic view and respect for nature. Through working in the gardens, a better understanding is fostered on topics such as food and health, energy recycling, natural relationships, team work and planning, habitats, ecosystems, environmental ethics, natural elements and resource usage.

MMEP requires a good level of commitment from the school community prior to engaging in a focused intervention. Schools must come up with any necessary capital equipment and MMEP will provide the skills and training to maximise its use.

MMEP’s ultimate strategy aims at ensuring the sustainability and yields of the gardens; encouraging the planting of traditional food crops; promoting the innovative use of available resources; and reducing reliance on outside assistance.

ACTION PLAN

Preparation

• As part of the ongoing support provided to the school, MMEP will begin imparting specific lessons around ecology, water and plants;
• A compost heap will be prepared;
• Initial planning of the garden will take place;

Implementation

• Four one-day workshops will be conducted for educators on the principles of permaculture, compost making, plant propagation and companion planting. Workshops will be conducted on Saturday mornings at a local organic farm.
• In-class “co-teaching” lessons will be lead by an experienced facilitator on topics such as food gardening, nutrition, healthy living, ecology, life cycle of plants, water and weather. The school will be visited four days per month.
• The garden will be visited and supervised monthly by a local organic farmer.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Midlands Meander Education Project will visit the school on a regular basis, which will enable them to monitor improvement in the gardens. In addition, the organisation will monitor the quantity and value of vegetables added to the school feeding scheme as a result of the garden produce.

Tests will be applied prior to and at the end of the project in order to assess knowledge gain of teachers and learners in ecology. As part of the Eco-Schools programme, the school will summit an Eco-School portfolio at the end of the year, which will inform on the school activities implemented in the area of ecology as well as the integration of environmental education into the curriculum.

ORGANISATION ASSESSMENT

MMEP is a highly innovative and environmentally committed organisation, which is fulfilling a gap in the area of environmental education in rural under-resourced schools. Their model has been successfully implemented in various local schools and currently, support is actively sought by school principles. The team holds multiple years of collective experience in the sector and is connected to relevant peer organisations for the purpose of shared learning.

Two major issues however, could potentially threaten the capacity of the organisation to fulfil its mission in the short-term: on the one hand, the lack of a strategic fundraising plan based on programme targets; on the other hand, the heavy reliance on one individual for direction. The organisation conducts limited strategic and financial planning and is heavily dependent on the availability of additional funding for project expansion.

RISK PROFILE

Key Strengths

• Concept: The need for an efficient food garden was identified and communicated directly by the school management, which ensures school commitment and ownership. In addition, MMEP translates vegetable farming into a broader understanding of ecology, self-sustainability and caring for the environment.
• Design: This project is consistent with MMEP past programmes that have yielded the expected outcomes. The provision of environmentally-friendly, resource-efficient permaculture training to resource-poor food gardeners enhances the efficacy of the project. Quality mentoring is provided by a local organic farmer, whose expertise will be instrumental for the success of the garden.
• Capability: The project team has excellent qualifications and significant and wide experience in implementing food garden and environmental projects at under-resourced schools.
• Control: Given the basic design and scope of this project, MMEP has sufficient internal controls and financial oversight in place to ensure project transparency and accountability.
• Sustainability: The two previous school food gardens established with the support of MMEP are now self-sustaining and are complementing the school feeding scheme with vegetables all through the year.

Key Risks - Low

• Concept: Food production programmes take time to yield sufficient food requiring the long-term commitment and diligence of the school. This risk is somewhat mitigated by the great interest in the environment shown by the school, which was proved by their Eco-School certification for the past four years.
• Design: The organisation mostly relies on qualitative project evaluation, with scarce tracking and measuring of change. For the purpose of this project, anecdotal evidence will be complemented with tools developed ad hoc for tracking and measuring outcomes.
• Control: Being a small-scale environmental education initiative part of a bigger organisation, MMEP lacks formal and regular controls and reporting systems.
• Sustainability: The project lasting impact is dependent on the motivation and capacity of the school’s community to keep applying their training and expanding their food production beyond subsistence and possibly to their own households.
• External: There is a risk of the fence getting stolen, but this is mitigated to an extent by strong school management and community involvement.