VEGGIES
FOR
LIFE
Project details
Title
VEGGIES FOR LIFE
The project owner
Alagumalai Ramachandran
Location
- Kolli Hills
- Namakkal, Tamilnadu
- India
Goal summary
We want to tackle malnutrition! The goal of the project is to provide nutrition, through vegetables, all year long to children in 3 schools. Every day these school kids will get a proper lunch. It will enlarge their health and development. The children will also learn how to grow their own vegetables. We want to get this done through innovative green houses.
Project summary
Lunch meals are one of the common initiatives of the local government. But due to the low budget of the program, the meals lack nutrition in the form of vegetables. The increasing poverty and the lack of care has led to malnutrition. Kids have become sick easily and drop out of school. We want these kids to be healthy so that they can continue their education.
How
The project will adopt 3 schools of primary and middle school level covering kids from first to eight grade. Necessary permission from the local authorities for establishment of the green houses in schools will be obtained. The lunch workers will be motivated and equipped in vegetable gardening and cultivation. The children will enjoy a balanced meal that will open the way for a happy and healthy life. This pilot model will be carefully studied for the effectiveness and will be replicated in larger level to other school children, who are in need of better nutrition in their meals.
Beneficiaries
- 1500
- The beneficiaries of the project are Malayali Tribal children in schools and of ages 6-12. These Children are found in large in Kolli Hills of Eastern Ghats in Namakkal District, Tamilnadu, India. They are found in 275 hamlets in 14 village Panchayaths of this region.These children hail from poor family background with their parents highly illiterate, mostly agricultural coolies and migrant in nature almost 6 months in a year, largely deserted families and undernourished. These children are the first generation people under taking regular schools, but are found highly drop-out to various reasons. Family poverty and lack of parental care are major of the reasons behind. Also earlier girl children marriages are quite common in these communities. These communities lack food security and are mostly ignorant of health and hygiene. Malnutrition is highly found among these communities especially among children and adolescent girls. Under their guidance, a management team comprising of schools students will be organized and will be made as the care takers of Green House management like seeding, watering and cultivation of vegetables and greens. These students will be routinely guided about learning about cultivation of vegetables and greens in an organic way by the project personals. Intermediately, Green House of good and standard designs of 20 x 20 will be organised in each schools equipped with Drum Kit Drip Irrigation sets for easy and effective water management. To overcome the malnutrition and make these children healthy and sound minds, paving paths for good education and sustained development, this project focuses on pilot phase of targeting children in 5 schools inclusive of both gender.
- Mixed
Why (Project owners drive)
I am passionate about this project, because I hail from the most downtrodden community in the society and myself can understand what good food means to early childhood development, especially for health, education and overall development. Working with these tribal communities, over few years, It's my felt need that malnutrition should get overcome and is of the priority issues among these communities. It could be easiest strategy to reach them in schools through noon meal program and through the self sustainable approach of green houses establishment for vegetable and greens growth in schools, could be effective and novel approach to combat nutrition and help this children over come malnutrition. Also this approach could stand as good adaptable and can be replicated elsewhere, for cost effective and good practice to combat malnutrition among school children. Hence, I am passionate about this project and like to establish this as a good and successful model to combat malnutrition.
Relation between the project partner (excecution) and the project owner (fundraising)
The project owner is the director of SEEDS. He is associated with the organization since the beginning in 1994.
Project organization
- Socio-Economic and Educational Development Society (SEEDS)
- www.seedsgreen.org
- Socio-Economic and Educational Development Society (SEEDS) envisions a society where people live in harmony and peace with fellow human beings and the nature. Enable grass root communities to achieve holistic development through participatory.
Budget
€520
Phases
-
Workshops to PTA & Noon Meal Workers, and 1 Green House
- Workshops to PTA & Noon Meal Workers, organizing Student's Club and Education on Vegetable & Green Cultivation & Establishment 1 Green House.
- €174
- 174
-
Establishment of 2 Green Houses
- One green house in each school. Total of 2 green houses of size 20 x 20, equipped with low cost drum kit irrigation sets.
- €346
- 346
-
Cultivation of vegetables
- It will be organized in schools for cultivation of vegetables.
- €0
- 0