Can you believe it's August already?
June and July seemed to go by in a flash. Here in South Africa, schools were closed for almost a month with the "winter holidays" with kids and teachers having a much needed break.
With the weeks leading up to the break, and for the first couple of weeks when kids go back to the school at the end of July, teachers and schools are busy. So for the past 8 weeks or so, there have been no Growing Hope classes and gardens, as there wasn't the space in their schedules.
When we started Mission 2022, we decided to have a radical goal of finding sponsorship for each week of the year - so that we could teach 52 live hands on permaculture classes and bring all the needed items to initiate a food garden in a school. So that within days soil would be regenerating and within a few weeks, food would be growing, and within a couple months a full harvest would be there. Right before their very eyes!
So while we have to pace the actual classes and garden installations to work with the schedules of the school, we still love Mission 2022 and what we set out to achieve. To find a sponsorship for each week of 2022, and then teach and bring the school the permaculture class and the permacutlure gardening support items (mulch, seeds, seedlings) that they need - on a timeline that works best for them - all thanks to our sponsors!
So we are looking forward to doing our next sponsored schools, as we move into Term 3 of the South African school year! 52 gardens in our goal, and we continue to work towards that.
From everything we have seen, these schools, teachers and kids really appreciate and welcome the support. Some of them already grow some cabbages or corn, and yet when we are able to come and share some Permaculture Wisdom, such as the importance of mulching, companion planting and cover crops, they are curious to explored simple yet impactful additions to their desire and passion for growing and farming vegetables and food.
We have been humbled by meeting and connecting with so many principals, teachers, groundsmen and kids this year. We are honored to be able to do this meaninful work and we have our sponsors to thank for their support!
Here are two videos from schools we have mentored.