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Slide Show
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Report on a gardening
project in the mountains
by volunteer Alejandra
"The garden
project went really, really well. We ended up building 2
beds in front of the kindergarten and two in the
elementary area in
the front of the school. It was definitely a
group effort and
everything came together just right.
Kadek (Wanagiri kindergarten teacher) had family
members with many
types of crops and we purchased lots of seedlings
and sprouts from
them. Made (Nyoman's brother) directed the whole
building operation (a
wooden fence around the kindergarten beds since
that area has a fence
around it already, and bamboo fences in the
elementary school area so
the chickens don't get in there). We also bought
some ready-made
compost and gardening tools for adults and
children.
The children were very excited to build the
garden and plant. In the
elementary school, the kids pretty much took over
and we just
coordinated-- everything from chopping the bamboo
with a machete to
digging up the grass that was already there to
hammering in and
braiding the bamboo fence to planting. They were
so friendly and happy
and eager to learn English words for things as we
went along. They
were a really nice balance between being silly
and fun-loving but then
when something was being explained they were
instantly attentive and
respectful. The teachers at the kindergarten also
got right into it,
sawing wood, hammering, etc. Even a couple
administrators got out and
participated.
We discussed some lesson ideas with the
kindergarten teachers and made
some materials. We also talked to Nyoman about
the concept of
integrating the garden in the curriculum beyond
just teaching kids
about organic gardening (for example, you can tie
it into math by
measuring the growth of plants, charting it and
then figuring out
average growth per month, etc.; you can record
daily temperatures and
rainfall and correlate to growth; on the social
studies front, you can
choose one of the plants and trace its history
and cultural
significance-- for example, look at the potato,
who used it in ancient
times, what other cultures eat it today as a
staple and what their
cuisine and customs are, etc.; in geography you
can look at what
regions of the world have climates appropriate
for growing each type
of crop; in economics you can look at the market
price for different
types of produce and do a simulation of the costs
farmers face, etc.;
of course in science there are countless
connections from plant growth
and reproduction to weather to insects to the
physics of nutrients in
the soil such as nitrogen....)
We left many, many books about gardening-- some
for young children we
gave to the kindergarten and ones for older
students and resources for
adults we gave to Nyoman.
We also talked with Nyoman about the idea of
getting volunteers to
contribute in other ways such as doing workshops
with teachers on how
to enrich their curriculum with lessons such as
the ones listed above;
making bi-lingual materials for them to use. We
also talked
about posting flyers in area hotels about
"specialized tours" to take
people beyond the tourist activities to see
"the real
Bali
" for a
reasonable charge that would go to help the
projects. For example, to
learn about the school system, observe a class,
meet with students,
etc. or to see what Nyoman is doing helping to
build houses. The
advantage is not just raising awareness but also
expanding the pool of
volunteers who may be able to contribute in some
way, including giving
donations to support your work."
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