Ecobreves – HONDURAS: School Kids Raise Family Gardens

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

TEGUCIGALPA, Sep 19 2011 (IPS) - Students from around 100 schools in Tegucigalpa are raising crops in community gardens as part of the Friends of the Environment project, aimed at raising awareness about the role of children in protecting nature. The initiative is being carried out in schools in marginalized neighborhoods of the Honduran capital, where children are learning how to work the land without chemical products, as well as growing nutritious foods, alderwoman and project coordinator Doris Gutiérrez told Tierramérica.

After seven months "we now have family gardens growing chayote (Sechium edule), tomatoes and herbs, which are harvested by the children and sold in markets in the capital, generating small amounts of income for their families," she explained.

Their success has inspired other schools and non-governmental organizations to seek to replicate the initiative.