Annual Report 2014

REINFORCING COMMUNITY TIES

HEALTHY FOOD

SOWING COMMUNITIES

ObjectivES • To promote the strengthening of the ties between schools and the community • To encourage the expansion of the orchard as a source of healthy food • To promote cooperative work through joint construction of the orchard and the greenhouse

The construction of a community orchard in the rural school of Queguayar has significantly improved the quality of food for the children. But the orchard has also been transformed into an excellent teaching resource and has brought together families to work for their town. It is 12:30 at School No. 78 in the town of Queguayar. Several mothers arrive to fetch their children, including Amelia Rodríguez, mother of 11-year old Camila who is in 5th grade. However, unlike their peers, they are not heading home to work with their husbands, but are on their way to the school orchard to remove soil compaction and water the vegetables; a task that takes them at least a couple of hours. Like them, a father who lives opposite the school is responsible for watering the orchard every day during the summer holidays. Several families work together to maintain the school orchard, which received support from the Foundation to purchase all of the tools needed for weeding, gardening and constructing a

greenhouse. According to Rosa Costanzo, the head of this school, “70% of the parents were involved in the project and they themselves distribute the tasks”. Around 150 people live in Queguayar and 47 of them are children who attend this school. Being located on Route 3 with good access to public transport, it is a town that has grown in population, although it suffers from continuous mobility. “Here we have the problem that families come and go. But this project encourages people not to leave. We are seeing a gradual change in mentality, we have already managed to set up four orchards in addition to the school one”, says Constanzo with satisfaction. Families also value the orchard as a space to strengthen the ties between them. “The orchard provides new life to the school. It helps bringing people together, it is a way of working for the village”, says María del Rosario de los Santos, the mother of Santiago and Gastón, aged 10 and 11. Her dream, which is shared with the head of the school, is to set up a food processing cooperative in Queguayar, where women who remain in the town

3

70 %

47

of families involved

Teachers

Children

26 2014 ANNUAL REPORT