Transgardens connects with pedagogical gardens in 6 schools located around Piggs Peak, one in the local hospital, and one in a poor neighborhood in town, run by FundzisaLive and Designing Hope with the support of the Ivory Foundation. Designing Hope started settling a first pilot garden, highlighting techniques of agroecology and permaculture in Piggs Peak, Swaziland in 2011. This initiative was successful, and it encouraged the NGO to duplicate this garden with a pedagogical approach targeting both the youth and HIV positive patients.

Designing Hope had established close links with schools in Swaziland (Support of orphans and disadvantaged children in 14 schools since 2011) and with the regional hospitals (meal distribution to HIV patients since 2005).

This helped settling these pedagogical gardens: 6 in schools, 1 in Piggs peak hospital and 2 in local communities.
A team of 6 people is in charge of training, and maintenance of gardens. They work with school teachers and volunteers children.

 

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Positive results

In 2015, 134 children participated regularly to trainings,and followed the permaculture training. Schools are located 25km around Piggs Peak (Ekujabuleni, Nginamandvolo, Luhhumaneni and Hhohho MEAs).

-Children are selected from the age of 10/15 years.
-2 only left the group during the year.
-among them, 22% asked for seeds and plants for their home garden.
-23% of parents followed trainings.
-3 Families from Ekujabuleni and Luhhumaneni asked for assistance to start individual gardens, especially older women. Neighboring families were invited to follow the development of these gardens.

-2 New schools have volunteered to host this initiative and joint the project in 2016.

-Finally, teachers asked Designing Hope to provide complement theoretical courses, and offered classroom for this purpose and extend the age groups, reaching a number of 240 children in 2016.

In 2017, a plot was entrusted by the town hall of Piggs Peak to develop an educational garden in agroforestry, in collaboration with the APAF

 

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