AGRICULTURE AS A TEACHING TOOL

Many associations looking after street children use agricultural work as a teaching tool. In their view, this provides them with the means, not only to get the children off the street, but also to give them back the sense of the natural rhythms of life through that of the seasons, the sense of responsibility through the growth or otherwise of crops they have, or have not, forgotten to water, the development or the demise of a pet animal in the child's care. It also provides an illiterate child with the means to learn a trade, to earn a living, to return to the village, to strive against the rural exodus.

Here then, from letters we have received, is an inventory of the achievements and problems encountered.

We can say briefly that there are two ways of using agriculture with children:
- Some, using kitchen gardens or farmyards in centres, consider it as a means of teaching children to look after their own resources.
- Others set up ambitious, long-term projects consisting of a scholastic curriculum on food agriculture and a training centre for agricultural farming. The resulting farm or agricultural holding is thus the place to learn a trade.

* Gardens or farmyards as peripheral activities of a centre
* Agricultural farms
* First evaluation
* Why a farm for street children?
* Agricultural experiences

Report n° 13 - september 2001

Kitchen gardens or chicken runs, even relatively small ones, are a great success with children. The work they do and the results they obtain are very important for them: they water and see how everything grows!

The idea of making them responsible is fundamental:
 - In Passi (Caméleon association - Philippines): the girls do gardening (flowers and vegetables) and are responsible for a plot of land and/or a farmyard animal.
 - In Jogelonys (The Children of Saint John - Lithuania), after the kitchen garden (fruit trees and vegetables), and following discussion with the children, it was decided to create a chicken run.
 - In Bukavu (Adejeda - Congo) a "rotating animal loan" has been set up: four females and a male are "loaned" to the child who starts up this activity and who must return them so that they may be given to other children.

The childrens' apprenticeship in the complete process of gardening or chicken and rabbit rearing is thus hands-on. Given, in general, the paucity of material means, it is the children and the members of the associations, and not professionals, who build the necessary structures (outbuildings, chicken runs, ...).
The products are intended for consumption at the centres or for sale. Money from the sales may be given to the children (partially) or reinvested in other cultivations (as, for instance, in Lubumbashi - Congo).
It should be noted that these agricultural activities involve only fruit and vegetables and small farmyard animals since sizeable and solid structures are needed to raise cattle.

Report n° 13 - september 2001

All the structures of this nature described to us have the common aim of reintegrating the child into the agricultural life of the country by providing the child with the means of acquiring the know-how to find work. Returning to the village with the means of earning a livelihood is the ultimate goal. ("In Africa, one may have forgotten one's family, but never one's land" says Innocent G. Gbetegan; "Carry out useful projects the roots of which are in the village", says Nicole Payelle in "School for Life", in respect of Tokombéré College).
All these initiatives take into account the agricultural realities of the region and the mentalities of the country.

We may cite among the farm-school projects for underprivileged children and adolescents:
- The agricultural exploitation at Mulemba (Angola) helps to improve the diet of the children at the home, to participate financially in the costs of the exploitation, and to offer training for the youths with the prospect of work.
- The farm-school at Bukavu run by the Adejeda association (Congo) wishes to promote the rearing of farmyard animals and cattle as training for a trade.
- The Bahay Kalikasan (Virlanie - Philippines) hopes to help in reintegrating adolescents no longer attending school. It is also a nature discovery centre and a holiday centre for street children.
- The CEFAAM (Centre for agricultural, trade and household training) at Mahitsy (Madagascar): 90 pupils on three-year courses, of whom 60 are boarders. Every year, 20 young people set themselves up in the region. The letter from ZOMA speaks of "an amazing kitchen garden".
- The Nanban farm at Maduraï (Southern India) where they grow coconut palms and palm trees (for the coconuts and the palms), at the feet of which grow various plants, and rear 46 milch cows, the milk from whom is sold, and pigs for meat. This production is a definite source of income, and the farm is a training centre for young volunteers and a holiday centre for street children.
- The Centre at Shongaï in Porto Novo (Benin) is an extremely solid and impressive organization. We shall have more to say in future on this farm school which offers a two-year training course to girls and boys (entry by examination): from training in agricultural techniques to commercialization. A specific twelve-month training scheme is available for unschooled young people. The parents of the young people in the twelve-month training programme must undertake to find them a plot of land. This is the creation of a real network of inter-aid for young and old (coordination, visits).
- The Kalyani farm (70 kms from Calcutta - Project of Don Bosco Ashalayam) offers apprenticeship in these same agricultural techniques. The young people save up, during their training, to invest one third of their revenue in the purchase of an acre of land.

The last two structures (Shongaï and Ashalayam) ensure an efficient follow up for a real start in the world of work: seeking financial aid, recycling sessions, bulletins on technical innovations for Shongaï; subventions from Ashalayam for the purchase of land so that they can live off their own produce.
Specialities may be mentioned: two farms (Kalyani and Shongaï) have fishfarming facilities and the farm at Bahay (Virlanie) cultivation in greenhouses.

As well, of course, as these farms created for the reintegration of street children, there are training projects for all children. Alongside the teaching of agricultural trades properly speaking and techniques for obtaining better yields, there is also training in agri-food transformation (transformation and preservation of products), at the Baba Simon College in Tokombéré (Cameroun), for example, or the Cefotam in Madagascar.
Stress is laid on the intellectual and physical training of the children. The directors hope to see these young people create little units for the transformation of agricultural products (bakery, delicatessen, jam and juice production). One of the students calls this training for a "livelihood".

Report n° 13 - september 2001

The successes are real. It is interesting to see that the girls at Shongaï are particularly interested in the cultivation of mushrooms. The centre at Mulemba is thinking of going into partnership with a French NGO to make training available for all children, whether schooled or illiterate.

From the point of view of production, it is vital to perfect techniques for the transformation and preservation of fruit such as mangos, guavas, bananas and papayas which are abundant for a few months then perish for lack of means to preserve them (regular source of income, as mentioned by both Kalyani and Tokombéré). Resource management is the basis for the development of these regions which often have to cope with deficiency diseases and periods of famine.

Problems encountered

• The main problem is the very low image people have of agricultural labour. Whereas children may enjoy rearing animals and cultivating vegetables, youths are drawn to mechanical trades (as noted by the person in charge at Mulemba) and by the city.

• Rural exodus is a crucial problem. In many cases, agricultural activity does not seem as if it will provide stability for children and young people.

• The climate: at Bukavu (cold), the plants from Bujumbura (hot) do not adapt; at Tokombéré, yeast ferments badly due to the temperature.

• Epidemics that decimate farmyard animals and cattle or insufficient resources to feed the animals properly (there have even been cases of cannibalism among the chickens in Bukavu...).

• Training framework: although some centres, like Bukavu (vetinary, medical and monitors), or Kalyani (students in agronomical studies, support from the University of Bengal), benefit from competent cadres, the other farms seem cruelly lacking in teaching staff. There may even no longer be any agricultural training in Angola.

• Technical problems: reservoir, irrigation, electricity generator or the lack of a tractor or a fourwheel-drive hampers farm life considerably.

• Financial problems, of course: the College at Tokombéré points out that the extraction of groundnut oil using a press provides a good yield but requires financial investment too onerous to contemplate.

• Problems relating to the social and political structures of the countries in question: the need for agricultural reform, the inexistence of mortgage rights, the absence of rules for land management. give rise to serious problems.

Report n° 14 - february 2002

The Don Bosco Ashalayam association, which has been in existence for 15 years, looks after 365 children in its 18 homes and more than 1,600 young people benefit from constant follow-up in the street (reading/writing, night refuges, medical attention, etc.). In 1997 Ashalayam created a farm for young people unable to undertake traditional or technical studies. This project should allow them to re-integrate into society and give them a roof under which to shelter a future family.

A great many street children have fled from villages, they are not yet used to town life and feel better in the country. Life is much less expensive and it is easy to "settle in". Conditions for children in towns are particularly difficult during the monsoon and winter. The temptation of prostitution is great and they often catch infectious diseases. In summer, pollution is a scourge for organisms undermined by privation. Encouraging young people to return to the country helps, be it ever so humbly, in the struggle against overpopulation in towns. The farm provides a "pure" environment for these young people eager to rebuild their lives.

Agricultural training is an easy option for young people who have neither the ability nor the will to undertake educational or technical training. It gives a chance to young people much scarred by their past (drugs, delinquency) in an environment advantageous to further fulfilment (contact with animals). Most of the young people working on the farm had not taken to life in one of the Ashalayam homes where the training imposes too many constraints and where they are far from keen on the studious atmosphere!
For the same reasons, a group of young people with learning disabilities has been set up, enabling them to learn about agriculture and manage a mini-exploitation.

Situated in Kalyani, a large village (in India, a village has thousands of inhabitants) 65 kms from Calcutta, the Ashalayam farm covers about 5 hectares. This year, 25 young people aged between 14 and 18 are working there and preparing for their future. They live in four little houses around the farm land where they are independent, although under the responsibility of educators. Two other homes, built on the same land, shelter younger boys and girls (from 5 to 12 years old) who go to school. They also do small jobs around the farm during their spare time. They make the place more lively, preventing the isolation of the older children and the creation of a "juvenile delinquent" community that might make them feel excluded. They all live together, play together, help each other (the older ones play the part of older brothers) which creates a family atmosphere.

They young people learn to cultivate and harvest rice, wheat and various basic vegetables required for food, and to produce fruit, the sale of which provides a source of regular income. Those unable to cope with sales to the outside are taught how to harvest and transform certain products: husking rice, milling wheat into flour and grinding spices into powder, pressing fruit juices, making sauces (tomato, chili), dehydrating vegetables. Two agricultural students train the young people in these different areas.

Cattle and farmyard husbandry and fish farming are also on the programme with the help of the University of Bengal which also gives advice on fish conservation.

Various productions provide both the opportunity for training and sources of monetary income.
The principal crops are rice and wheat (the latest harvest provided 5 tonnes of rice).
There are also, however, 18 varieties of vegetable (tapioca, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, beans, pumpkins, cabbage and cauliflower and local varieties), 15 kinds of fruit tree (banana, guava, papaya, mango and numerous local varieties) and a mushroom patch.
There are also 350 hens and a few ducks for eggs and meat, some cows for milk, and fish farming has begun with a pond (500 cubic metres of water) for 600 fish.
There is also a freeze-drying unit in operation where snack foods are manufactured (tapioca and potato crisps), and ground spices, freeze-dried vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower), and a unit for producing and bottling fruit juice, spicy sauces and tomato sauces.

• Supplementary training deriving from the project

Two young people have already learned to drive a little tractor donated by the British Consulate and are working both on the farm and for neighbouring farmers.
The labels for the sale of freeze-dried produce and bottled fruit juice are printed in the Ashalayam work shop.

One of the homes on the farm is more roomy and welcomes, on a rota basis, during the holidays, children from other homes in Calcutta or Howrah. These groups thus benefit, for a week, not only from a "plunge" into proper countryside, but also initiation into farm work and appreciation of the idea of settling in future in a village rather than in town.

• Profits

Part of the harvest supplies all of the Ashalayam homes with rice, potatoes, vegetables, eggs, and makes it possible to economize between 380 euros and 750 euros per month. The rest is sold on the local market.
Freeze-drying vegetables makes it possible to sell them at a higher price when there is a dearth on the local market.
Although quantities are not yet large, crisps, ground spices, fruit juice and sauces are offered for sale (with a foodstuff handling licence) in hotels in Calcutta, schools and shops.
Renting out the tractor to local farmers provides funds for the project and for the young people who drive it.

• Educational principle

The young people are housed in little groups of 5 or 6 so that they can be looked after individually. They live in a little community, are independent and much freer than they would be if they were in a traditional home. They are autonomous, cooking their own meals and are responsible for keeping their house clean. They live in simple conditions, similar to those of the surrounding villagers, just as they will be living in the future.

The main goal: creating conditions to make a future possible.

A young person may always choose, after having "settled down", thanks to the farm, to return to the city and take up another job. A third of the profit from the sale of goods is put into a bank account for the young person or persons who have worked on these sales, and, for some of the produce cultivated, they are paid by the hour. For those choosing to remain in agriculture, this money saved, and a subsidy from Ashalayam, provides them with the means of building a house and buying land (less than 0.5 hectare) so that they can live on their own crops.

Within three and a half years, many young people have already profited from a period of re-integration on the farm: 45 of them have their own land, 32 have built their own house and 22 have married.

• The team

Uncle William, retired, initiator and coordinator of the project, devotes 100% of his time free of charge to Ashalayam. He has wide experience in agriculture and accounting. An Indian volunteer and a local farmer paid by Ashalayam provide agricultural training for the young people.
Two educators provide educational follow-up.
Two specialists from West Bengal Province (attached to the Government), one in agriculture, the other in fish breeding, provide their advice free of charge. Moreover, they obtain from local partners gifts or reduced prices on the purchase of seeds, fish.
Farmers from neighbouring villages are employed seasonally during heavy work periods. They are also a source of information and socialization for the young people.

Report n°15 - september 2002

• Statement from Lumpumgu Mwembo, CUT, Lubumbashi, DRC

Why did you take up this experience?

"Agriculture here is the easiest and most accessible job for everyone. We ourselves, while still young students, overcame our financial problems by working on the land. With the help of a catholic missionary who bought our agricultural produce, we decided to share our experience with the street youth."

What are the essentials required?

"At the outset, given the meagre resources, all that is needed are a few hoes, two or three hoses and seed. Even if the children must take turns to work, the main thing is to get the project up and working.
There must also be enough sustenance to feed the children regularly, since they go on the streets to find food. Moreover, for them, any job must be fruitful immediately (...). It is only with time that they learn that, to live better, they must work hard, be patient and wait until what has been sown grows.
Finally, courage and determination are needed to understand that, in agriculture, problems arise and courage is needed to begin again when something doesn't work the first time."

How many children did you start off with?

"For reasons of discipline, a decent framework, and above all, because of our resources, we started with 20 children, and it was only later that we got to 50 and even more today.
Anyone wishing to engage in this activity should begin with a very small number of young people who can be sufficiently initiated into the job and who, in turn, will help the others to do better. In this way the enterprise has more chance of being successful."

How long his the project been operating?

"We began in 1992 and became more effective in 1993. The project has made good progress, for we began with a very small plot of land and today we cultivate 1 to 2 hectares."

To what do you attribute the success of the project?

"We think that the greatest secret for success is courage, love, concern, the will to see others learn this job and live from it, by their personal efforts, instead of vegetating in the streets. Again, you must start off with merely a few children who you can look after properly. In addition, you must know how to cultivate produce that will be easy to sell.
 On the other hand, beginning with too many children you can't look after properly is a recipe for failure, for we must not forget that these children have lived in an environment without law and discipline. That is why each one must be followed up individually.
Another reason for failure is beginning with too large a plot of land when resources are few. In addition, however, and to tell the truth, the children may not come back if the enterprise does not make enough for them to live on. In which case the project grinds to a halt."

Do you think that these agricultural activities are really beneficial for the children?

"They do benefit the children in so far as farming is a job which makes them useful for themselves and above all for society. By and large, agriculture helps children discover that they are not subhuman and that, like all men, they can live happily thanks to their own ability and their own efforts."

What can be done to prevent them wanting to return to the towns?

"Our field produce is sold by the children themselves supervised by those in charge of our centre. In this way, they earn money themselves and, little by little, they discover that what they had hoped to find on the street can be acquired by their own work on the land. Thus they learn gradually that they need no longer be on the streets where they live and eat with difficulty, whereas our centre provides them with a measure of nutritional security."

• OPDE Burundi - Bujumbura, BURUNDI

"A lengthy process of analysis and accompaniment has led us to note that a street child is a worker capable of making himself or herself useful and be responsible for his or her future. We thus began with simple things such as breeding poultry in the centres where the children live. (...)
In January 1997, OPDE set up a pilot project to raise 600 egg-layers in three home centres. That experimental phase developed successfully. After that test, the project was widened to include 1,000 egg-laying hens. It contributes efficiently to improving the children's food ration. It has helped to train them in the various techniques of poultry breeding and different means of management and enterprise. Thanks to this project, we have been able to sustain other microprojects for the worst off children, such as dressmaking for girls, restoring the street childrens' refuge, the wages for the workers on and logistic support for the handicraft smithy project."

• Centre Notre-Dame de Clairvaux - Don Bosco - Antananarivo, MADAGASCAR

"The centre, merely a welcome centre at the outset in 1968, was taken in hand by the Don Bosco Salesians in 1984. Today, it takes in 200 children at risk who are given a general education, orientation and professional training (agriculture and husbandry, construction, metalworking and woodworking). The Notre-Dame de Clairvaux Centre works in tandem with more than 36 social centres in Antananarivo (...).

Intent of the husbandry

The intent is educative: to train professionals in husbandry given that Madagascar is principally an agricultural country (80% of the population is engaged in agriculture).
The intent is also therapeutic: the young people establish affectionate links among themselves and with the animals; they learn to respect them and show their affection. Work on the farm is a real therapy, for the young people learn to open up and to commit themselves wholeheartedly to the animals whom they learn to care for, to tame and to love. Thanks to this work they become responsible and persevere, for the animals never go on holiday, they have to be fed and cared for day after day.

The intent is also productive, for the produce of the students' work is used for the Centre's food, for example, the young people drink the milk produced on the farm.

Husbandry

The Centre, 15 kms from Antananarivo, consists of 14 hectares on which are bred turkeys, ducks, rabbits, sheep, zebus, cows and horses, pigs, guinea pigs, and small birds (partridges, parrots).
Problems arise of course, such as looking after illness or sterility in, or accidents with, some of the animals... In spite of these difficulties, however, husbandry is a success, for it trains the young people and provides openings with animal breeders which facilitates training courses and provides work opportunities for the young people.

Some thoughts on our experiences

There is no point in taking the route of industrial husbandry, for the risks are too great, it is better rather to set up family farms (within the childrens' grasp) by buying the animals little by little to see whether they can be managed successfully.
The person in charge must be competent, must like the children and must be helped by capable people. Each day's work must be checked, attention paid to the dry season (lack of fodder) and precautions taken in advance. The neighbourhood must have medecines and a vet, the breeding area must be secure to avoid overnight burglaries, and the young people must eat what they produce, since this motivates them. Finally, there is no need to be frightened, it is not difficult. It should be remembered that the farm is above all a school and that, consequently, the young people will sometimes make mistakes... Do not get annoyed, therefore, a good deal of patience is needed!"

Heriberto CABRERA is willing to reply to questions on any aspect of the husbandry system:

• Catholic Action for Street Children (CAS) - Accra, GHANA

(...) "Children preparing to start school but not yet ready to do so are sent to the farm at the Hopeland Training Centre where the team of social workers can get to know the children well. This is a big step for the street children. Not only do they leave the streets, but also town life. They stay at Hopeland from 6 to 9 months. They look after hens, pigs, rabbits and ducks. They take courses in ceramics and candlemaking, and in reading and writing and hygiene. In a few years time the farm should be autonomous, although recently we have had a number of setbacks, most of which are due to lack of rain over the past three years. Another factor, however, is inflation, for, although we have no problem in selling the farm produce, the profit margin is extremely low due to inflation."

• Nanban - Maduraï, INDIA

"Nanban has an agricultural and husbandry centre of more than 6 hectares with 600 coconut and 200 other palms the yield from which is highly satisfactory. Corn and vellari (a type of spinach with a high vitamin C content) are grown among the palms. The farm has at present a herd of 46 cows, the excellent milk from which is sold directly to the consumer, and three pig sties containing 32 pigs and 28 piglets fed partially from surplus food from company canteens, for example, from hospital canteens. Three pigs are sold each month. There are three buildings for administration, services and commodities needed by the staff, conference rooms, stables and granges.

The farm has the advantage of being a source of revenue, a youth training centre, an ideal place for training workshops, seminars and conferences, a holiday home for children and a residence for official guests. Last year, Nanban installed an electric generator for burning farm rubbish (animal excrement) and the residue is used as agricultural fertilizer. The children are extremely proud of this machine, which is the first of its kind in the region, and maintain that it is the centre of attraction in the neighbourhood."

• Mulemba - Luanda, ANGOLA

"Every saturday and during the shorter holidays, children from age 12 are given agricultural training in the framework of our cooperation with Agrisud Angola. The oldest have been able to earn pocket money by helping to plant 200 mango trees and 3,000 pineapples."

• Intiganda - Butare, RWANDA ( flash - march 2002)

This association is at present following up 125 children.
Agricultural activity on 3.5 hectares means that the childrens' food can be varied and teaches them to cultivate it. The children are extremely proud to eat the fruits of their labour.

• OPDE Rwanda - Butare, RWANDA ( flash - march 2002 et september 2003)

OPDE Rwanda also has agro-pastoral activities. These help in the fight against child malnutrition, in training some of the children professionally and in finding a not inconsiderable financial boost to balance the budget. Chickens, goats and pigs are raised, but, unfortunately, production costs have risen and some sales prices have decreased, and, finally, the chickens have fallen sick!

• Abeterambere - Ruhengeri, RWANDA ( flash - march 2002)

This association looks after 111 children, 86 of whom are living with their families and 25 are in the centre. Pig farming, kitchen garden and a hairdressing salon provide sources of income. Contacts and exchanges with other organizations dealing with street children, particularly in Kigali, are most fruitful.

... Benevolents and volunteers

Created on 29 april, 2006 - Updated on 17 november, 2007