DILI, 29 june 2021 (TATOLI) – PREMATIL Non-Government Organization (NGO) considers Permaculture school garden program as an advantage for children’s brain development and helps child nutrition foods to consume local crops.
PERMATIL is implementing this Cultural School garden to respond to the school feeding program which in coordination with the Minister of Education and this program integrated for this education National curriculum.
PERMATIL realizes that this School Garden culture also becoming a “Laboratory for life” means that it is promoting education for development substantiality.
This program will be used by the teachers to teach students in some subjects such as language, art, culture, health, natural science and social science. It is educating children to learn how to produce organic fertilizer and children are not damaging the environment, especially for destroying nature. This program can help improve children’s health through consuming nutritive foods. PERMATIL Director, Eugenio Lemos told TATOLI Agency, at his office, in Falor, this tuesday.
It is also to educate children’s parents to cultivate local crops and provide nutritional foods to children to contribute to children’s brain development.
Ms. Lemos said that PERMATIL has created 252 permaculture school’s garden in around Timor-Leste territories except for Oecusse municipality. Some success has been recorded in this program and it is giving a change for human behavior especially for the children, teachers and teachers.
Some of school has used the school garden method for teaching their students such as Hera Basic school, Bikeli Basic school in Atauro, Lakluta Basic School in Viqueque municipality and this program has expand to the Ermera municipality, Letefoho catholic senior high school.
He added that the permaculture school garden helps students to learn how to produce organic fertilizer and build fences at home and teachers will take a note making the marks for the school. The children will have a self-learning process through what they experiment on during the premature school garden program.
It is recalled in Ermera municipality Letefoho post administrative and Leki salak village basic school some students reject eating foods from the school feeding program menu but they prefer to eat what they grow in their school garden. This means this program can change children’s attitude and the students can eat local products that are harvested in their garden.
“This program always promoting social culture and increase economy in this country and helping Timorese children to consume local crops except consume import foods less of nutrition, vitamin, carbohydrates and calcium,” He said
The school feeding program should be linked to the local product to provide fresh foods and containing nutritional foods.
Permaculture school garden program is to build children’s character to prefer secure and healthy foods and ensure children’s brain development.
We consider this program to be the most active, innovative and participative. The parents and the students can have a local foods cooking program to provide a local foods menu for the children to consume.
Mr. Lemos calls on the Timor-Leste government to provide a substantial program to promote local products and contribute for economic diversification in Timor-Leste.
Journalist: José Belarmino de Sá
Editor: Rafy Belo
