How can schools in Ethiopia benefit from Crop Circle Gardens?

Schools benefit from Crop Circle Gardens by providing a practical, hands-on learning experience in agriculture for students. The gardens serve as a source of fresh vegetables and fruits, contributing to better nutrition for students. They also offer an opportunity for schools to become more self-sufficient and potentially generate income by selling excess produce. Additionally, these gardens can foster a sense of community and responsibility among students as they participate in growing and caring for the plants.

What types of crops are typically grown in Crop Circle Gardens in Ethiopia?

Crop Circle Gardens in Ethiopia typically focus on growing crops that are well-suited to the local climate and soil conditions. This includes a variety of vegetables like kale, spinach, carrots, and tomatoes, as well as fruits such as strawberries and small citrus trees. Emphasis is often placed on growing nutrient-rich and high-yield crops to maximize the benefits. The selection of crops also considers local dietary preferences and the educational value for the students.

Can other communities or schools outside Ethiopia adopt the Crop Circle Garden model?

Absolutely, the Crop Circle Garden model can be adopted by other communities and schools globally. Its design is adaptable to various climates and contexts, making it a versatile solution for school gardens. The initiative encourages the sharing of knowledge and experiences to promote sustainable agriculture practices worldwide. However, it's important for each community to tailor the approach to fit their specific environmental conditions and needs.

Growing To Give Ethiopia

Ethiopia, located in the horn of Africa, is the most populous land-locked country in the world. Agriculture is the mainstay of Ethiopia's economy and accounts for 85% of the labor force, mostly at subsistence level, and contributes to 50 percent of the country's GDP and 80 percent of its exports. About 95 percent of the main crops (vegetables, fruits, cereals, pulses, oil seeds, root crops, and cash crops) are produced by smallholder farmers (less than 2 hectares for a family of 6-8 and use only family labor). The population depends on smallholder farms for food production, which face numerous challenges that range from a changing climate to declining water resources. Agriculture in Ethiopia is decidedly low-tech, not able to adapt to these challenges. What is needed is the introduction and rapid deployment of a climate adaptable plant growth technology that is easy to use, productive and uses less water.

Drought and Water Crisis - Starving and thirsrty Ethiopians

Ethiopia is a country that has been experiencing recurrent droughts and water crises for many years. These events have resulted in widespread crop failures, livestock deaths, and water shortages, which have put millions of people at risk of starvation and malnutrition.

Droughts are a natural occurrence in Ethiopia, but the severity and frequency of these events have been intensified by climate change and other factors such as deforestation and land degradation. As a result, many communities are struggling to find enough food and water to survive.

The water crisis in Ethiopia has also been exacerbated by a lack of infrastructure and resources to support water management and conservation. Many communities rely on unsafe water sources, such as contaminated rivers and ponds, which can lead to the spread of waterborne diseases and other health problems.

To address these challenges, the Ethiopian government and international organizations have implemented various programs and initiatives aimed at improving water management, promoting sustainable agriculture, and providing assistance to affected communities. However, the situation remains critical, and more support is needed to ensure that people have access to the basic necessities of life, including food and water.

A Subsistence Living For Most

Over 80 percent of Ethiopian students are from families that have small land holdings, from which they derive a subsistence living. It is widely recognized that there is a direct correlation between reduced poverty levels and higher levels of education, particularly among women. Better educated women tend to be more informed about nutrition and health care, have fewer children, marry at a later age, and their children are usually healthier, should they choose to become mothers. They are more likely to participate in the formal labor market and earn higher incomes. All these factors combined can help lift people, households, communities, and in fact the entire country out of poverty.

An Opportunity To Improve Conditions Teaching Ethiopian

Traditional education in Ethiopia, which typically relies on the "chalk and talk" method, has led to many children spending years in school without gaining significant knowledge. Partners in Education, an organization dedicated to improving the educational outcomes of Ethiopian schoolchildren across 34 schools, aims to enhance learning by moving classrooms outdoors. By introducing students to Crop Circle Farms & Gardens, they plan to create a more engaging and natural learning environment. In this setting, students will sit between the looping rows of a Crop Circle, surrounded by plants, while teachers instruct from the center of the spiral-shaped classroom.

The Project

Students in this collaborative project will learn through hands on experience. This approach has proven to be a much more effective and long-lasting method than traditional approaches. It is very conducive to the notion of students being agents of change, in that they will be provided with skills and knowledge that are very practical and readily transferable to others.

Project Goal

Reduce poverty by teaching students a new way to grow food using little water, less space in the challenging environment of Ethiopia. Strategies and objectives for the project are to include:

---Developing an age-appropriate outdoor teaching space around each horticultural area that use Crop Circle Gardens

---Developing a Crop Circle Garden manual

---Training teachers on how to deliver instruction on the gardens and green open spaces

---Training students (girls and boys) in improved gardening methods (Crop Circle Garden) in the school gardens and entrepreneurship integrated with the classroom curriculum

---Organizing with nearby smallholder farmers to visit the educational gardens and Crop Circle Garden technologies growing food

---Supporting children to share their new skills and knowledge of horticulture and entrepreneurship with their parents and neighbors and to apply those skills

---Support the schools to generate sustainable income from the school gardens and sustain quality of teaching and learning without primary support

---Monitor progress and evaluate improvements in household income

---Introduce children to new vegetables and fruits

---Establishing a school garden kitchen

---Providing girls and boys lessons on nutrition and cooking

---Supporting students share their nutrition knowledge and cooking skills with their family members and apply those skills at home

---Monitor progress and evaluating results

The regional education department presently pays teacher salaries, and we anticipate that after our involvement period, they will support the project and secure further salary contributions. Our experience is that the education department has been extremely positive about our projects to date, particularly a pilot educational gardening project at Sebatamit First Cycle school, where they have brought numerous dignitaries to show off the gardens and encourage the students.

Growing To Give

Crop Circle Farm & Gardens will be part of the curriculum for 34 schools in Ethiopia where boys and girls are taught how to use our water-smart technology.