Projects:
Evaton West Community
Garden Project
Act!
Gardens of Hope*Molapo School * Pitseng School *Linotsing School *Tsepong Clinic*Ha Makhata Group
Linotsing Community School
250 middle school students (ages 12-18)
Goals
- To practice sustainable farming, using indigenous systems of agriculture in combination with permaculture design
- To propogate and plant fruit trees and vines for the establishment of orchards at the school
- Produce vegetables, fruit and cereal crops on school grounds to provide for student’s school lunches
- Incorporating vocational training in household food security into the school’s curriculum
- Develop an HIV-AIDS Club at the elementary and middle school level
Linotsing Community & School
| Linotsing is a rural farming community located in the north of Lesotho. SOLID is working with the middle school and community council to develop a permaculture design for the village, involving irrigation, reforestation, soil improvement, better livestock management practices, and the planting of orchards and raised bed gardens. |  |
In 2005 SOLID donated a large quantity of farming tools to the school, which they used to
create ½ acre of raised vegetable gardens on school grounds. In 2006 SOLID invested in a
tree nursery, which over 150 people from the community came out to build with us. As at
Molapo High School, this tree nursery will support the education of the communities’
orphans through the sale of trees to the Ministry of Forests, and provide saplings for
the reforestation of the Linotsing region.
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With the help of Motholo, the co-ordinator for the Gardens of Hope project, we plan on
incorporating vocational training in household food security into the school’s
curriculum, and to do outreach to the larger Linotsing community through hosting workshops and seminars on sustainable agriculture. |
The village council has been developing an irrigation plan for the village of Linotsing,
involving the installation of a wind-generated water pump by the year round spring below
the village, and the establishment of water storage and dripline irrigation from the top
of the village down. The Community Water Council has raised $2000 , a remarkable feat for
a group of subsistence farmers whose income is less than $1 per day. This group wishes to
raise $10,000 to complete the irrigation project, and provide clean and steady water to
the local farmers, schools, and health centre.
| In the next phase of the Gardens of Hope project, we plan to invite the Tsepong clinic’s HIV/AIDS support group to Linotseng to assist them in developing an HIV-AIDS Club at the elementary and middle school level, so students may engage in peer to peer education & prevention campaigns through the development of murals, poster campaigns, film, and public presentations. |
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We also hope to grow enough food to allow the school to provide lunch for their
students. At present the students do not get a meal at school, which greatly inhibits
their ability to concentrate on their studies. Orphans and vulnerable children in
particular would benefit from a school lunch, as this often constitutes their only meal
of the day.
Accomplishments
- Built raised bed vegetable gardens covering ½ acre on school grounds
- Planted 1,000 trees on school grounds to provide shade, fodder, mulch, windbreak, firewood and timber
- Built tree nursery in 2006 with over 200 community members and students; ongoing training in soil composition, tree propagation, organic pest control, ….
- Partnership with four local community-based organizations for skill and resource share
- Built raised bed vegetable gardens covering ½ acre on school grounds;
Natural Resources
- Land: Linotsing School’s land is under the juristiction of the local chief. Her personal interest in nurseries and gardens ensures that she will continue to support these initiatives. There are approximately 15 hectares of arable land on school grounds. Water: Year round spring water is available but currently must be hand carried. SOLID is working with the Community Water Council to develop an irrigation system that will offer year-round water to the village and by extension the school.
Leadership
- The local area chief, Me Molapo Jonathan, works with her community in round table community forums that take place daily with different community stakeholders. The chief is the manager of the community woodlot, water supply, and farmland, and has a strong vision for the development of the land in a sustainable way through irrigation, community water storage, tree planting, and food security initiatives like the planting of orchards and improved farming techniques.
- The headmistress, Maseabatsa Seotsa, has been with the school for one year, in which time she has sourced funding to upgrade the existing school buildings and begin the building of more classrooms to accommodate the growing student body. Machakele Koetklisi, the agriculture teacher, mentors students in managing a large raised bed garden and orchard; he initiated the planting of 1000 trees on school grounds in 2005.
Human Resources / Stakeholders
- Students work a 1 hectare garden to learn practical skills and to meet their food needs. Community Water Council: This 5 member organization is responsible for the management of the community water supply. The group has raised M10,000 ($2000) towards a large scale windmill irrigation project.
- Parents : SOLID engaged 50 parents to participate in the building of Linotsing’s tree nursery and plans to extend training in tree production to the student’s families so parents can build backyard nurseries.
- US Peace Corps: Elliot Friedlander is stationed at Linotsing for a 2 year posting. He teaches English at the community school. Elliot has written study guides that are being published and distributed in Lesotho, with proceeds towards the Linotsing school’s expansion project.
- SOLID: In 2005 SOLID bought garden tools which were used to build the school’s 1 hectare food gardens. In 2006 SOLID built a tree nursery at the school and intends to deliver a series of training workshops to students and parents (see Appendix B)
HIV/AIDS Support
- PSI /New Start: Delivered workshops and offered voluntary counseling and testing to the community in 2006.
- As part of our Gardens of Hope project we hope to bring AIDS support groups from other projects such as Molapo and Tsepong Clinic to Linotsing to initiate similar organizations in the schools.