LVIA offices and a small part of the ornamental test-garden.
About two months ago we got the message that the second test-garden was about to be installed and this was the sign we had all been waiting for to book Deltares' first mission to Senegal and visit the Greening Plastic Project in real life. We booked our tickets and actually just returned; visiting Senegal from 9 to 14 July.
The first test-garden had been installed at the LVIA premises around April 2017. LVIA has a compound with several buildings in a lush, green garden full of birds. The garden initially consisted of an ornamental garden, but by now a more traditional, rectangular garden has been made as well. The garden is maintained by LVIA employees, among which the watchmen and they are allowed to keep the produce. The garden is meant to make use of the space available to LVIA, but also to genuinely learn about horticulture and to show visitors of LVIA how to grow vegetables.
This first test-garden already was a great success, as neighbors and passersby remarked that the garden was growing noticeably more lush and they wanted to know who had installed the drip irrigation system.
The second test-garden is to be installed at a primary school with which LVIA works together regularly.
We will post a full account of our mission to Senegal here, but if you can't wait, you can also follow my instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/geocheryl/
Hi Cheryl,
That looks amazing! So if i understand correctly your project develops drip irrigation systems from recycled material. You mention that the second test-garden will be installed at a primary school. I am wondering (and looking forward to) how that will work out since a primary school has a certain "hub" function where families come together. It will create quite a lot of exposure and i wonder how it will impact the community.
One thought you could look into: TAHMO (www.tahmo.org) has a school 2 school program in which they provide educational material which teachers use in classrooms so that students would work with the provided TAHMO weather station. That might also work for this project. Students learn about irrigation, water management, gardening... Love to hear what your thoughts on this is.
Hi Friso, keep following us, I'll post more about the school soon :)
I have a lot of contacts with (contacts at) schools in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Guinea and TAHMO looks like just the thing I would love to promote!
When it comes to this project, it is our NGO-partners LVIA who does the capacity building and this is more aimed at farmers. However, they have school-lunch programme with this primary school (and no doubt other ones) and waste management, water conservating and the environment are on the forefront of their interests. I will therefore deffinitely bring their attention to TAHMO and who knows what future projects it can be incorporated into...
Thank you and Cheers, Cheryl
Hi Cheryl,
I didnt mean that you could promote TAHMO, but you could use/copy their concept. What i mean is that you could create your own educational curricula which could fit within your project about waste recovery and drip irrigation. And through this way have a better outreach.
ah, yes, that is interesting, but unfortunately we wouldn't have the money to do that in this project.. but who knows in the future..