OCHO’s partnerships keep growing! In June 2015 we had the opportunity to tour several elementary schools in the remote areas of the Atima region where local students participate in the building of and caring for organic sustainable farms adjacent to their school grounds. The produce harvested by the students is then prepared by parents at the school kitchen to feed healthy and nutritious meals to their kids. With the support of PROMUSAN, a Honduran and FAO initiative to secure food to families living in impoverished areas, the children of Atima can now enjoy the benefits of a large variety of fruits and vegetables. In addition to fostering the education and implementation of Sustainable Farming Techniques, this environmental project contributes to the community development through the organization of farmer markets and training of local businesses.
Sustainable Farming Techniques
During our trip, OCHO was able to fund the purchase of seeds for schools in Emanal Abajo, Emanal Arriba, and Las Delicias. A group of our volunteers also built one of these organic gardens at the school for children with special needs. By October, we received pictures of the abundant harvest! What they need now is to equip the kitchens at those schools with utensils: reusable plates, cups, forks, and spoons. A small cost with a lasting impact.
$2000 will allow OCHO to equip 6 schools with the utensils they need to eat the produce the students harvest from the gardens at their school. Any donation matters.
780 Plates $767.00
780 Water $523.00
780 Spoons $350.00
780 Knives & Forks $350.00
One of our young volunteers, Meg Rice, reflected on her experience after visiting these schools:
"As a part of the environmental degree at my high school, I’ve decided to do a project on the sustainable family gardens that were recently created in an attempt to raise the level of nutrition in Honduras. During our trip, I visited several of these gardens, two of which were located at schools and tended by the students. One challenge in maintaining these gardens is securing a dependable water source for the plants. It occurred to me that a great solution for the gardens might be stored rainwater. I would like to continue my work in Honduras by finding a way to incorporate the use of stored rainwater – for example, using rain barrels –in the tending of the sustainable family gardens."
Meg is returning this year to join in the local efforts to secure the continuation of this project.
