The bioclimatic greenhouse

After three years of work, the roof of the kindergarten is once again available to the Designing Hope association. The installation of the Traversine garden in its new configuration began with the re-installation of the little house-shaped greenhouses, so popular … Read More

This Wednesday afternoon, the children from the Paris Anim centre (CLAJE) came to the Traversine de Villiot garden for a sowing activity. We provided them with mini greenhouses, composed of a equipped with a water reserve, a seedling tray and … Read More

The tipi in the Traversine Villiot garden was decked out with plant decorations made by children from the Bercy school, nursery school, creche and Paris Anim centre. Mrs Emanuelle Pierre-Marie, Mayor of the 12th arrondissement, came to inaugurate our Christmas … Read More

During the summer, the tipi in the Villiot garden is covered with climbing beans and squash. With no vegetation left over the winter, we decided to bring it back to life by transforming it into a Christmas tree! We organised … Read More

Designing Hope has mobilised all the children who benefit from the Villiot garden to transform the potager’s tepee into a Christmas tree. This morning, 8 children from the Villiot crèche contributed to the project by decorating bread apples with red … Read More

Broad beans are one of the few crops that have to be sown in late autumn.Their large seeds are easy for the children to plant, and in a few days they will be able to see the shoots emerge…Another advantage … Read More

The youngsters at the Half Way House in Rooseboom were able to try out the new game launched by the association, which completes the transgardens catalogue for educational games in all the gardens run by Dessine l’Espoir and The Ivory … Read More

With the support of The Ivory Foundation, a new plot of land has just been acquired to extend the farm.This plot is modest in size, but essential for the future of the project, as it can be built on.It will be dedicated … Read More

The Levi’s Nek farm has 2 dormitories and a shared living room where young people share their meals.The youths take it in turns to prepare their meals. They have got into the habit of cooking balanced meals for themselves, with … Read More

Using off-cuts from the boards used for the beds, large shelves were designed to fit out the workshop and the storage room for seeds and feed for the farm animals.The aim was also, as part of the metal training offered … Read More

Keyhole of the Traversine Villiot gardenThe Traversine Villiot garden now has a new feature: a keyhole garden.It features a central composter, whose decomposing elements will feed the circular growing tray that surrounds it.This is a new educational space for the … Read More

Levi’s Nek farm includes a house for the farm manager, with a separate office for farm administration, as well as an apartment for him to live in next to the youth dormitory.

Every evening, the young people at Levi’s Nek farm like to gather around the large table in the lounge at the entrance to the dormitories to play board games.

The Ivory Foundation has been supporting St Paul’s School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Leribe since 2015. While this support has until now focused mainly on setting up vegetable and animal protein production facilities to feed the … Read More

In order to help the young deaf and hard-of-hearing residents of the farm integrate into the Levi’s Nek community, an inauguration ceremony was organised for the young people, members of their families (some of whom came from very modest backgrounds and lived … Read More

At the inauguration of the Levi’s Nek farm, the young people were able to see and try on the complete outfit made for each of them by the women of the Garden of Skills in Eswatini. They were extremely proud … Read More

The trellis at Traversine Villiot is now entirely covered with mulberry trees! Maintained in this way, they are developing rapidly, with stems reaching up to 4 metres! Enough to provide a shady passageway that is beginning to fill with fruit … Read More

The mandala in the Garden of Skills is located at the entrance to the garden, near the kitchen. It includes a sample of the crops grown in the kitchen garden: shallots, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, etc.

The strawberries love the Garden of Skills just as much as the women in the garden love the strawberries…Just the thing… The plants have produced a huge number of runners, which the women have taken care to transplant onto new … Read More

Every year during the rainy season, the Yagma district is flooded with water running down the dirt tracks.Real ephemeral rivers sometimes block the streets. The agroforestry garden at the Yagma school is shown in these photos as an island spared … Read More

At the Bala seed farm, a different agroforestry technique has been introduced. Until then, fertiliser trees had criss-crossed the land. On this new plot, the corridor cultivation technique was used. The moringa plants are planted in a tight row, and … Read More

Dessine l’Espoir has developed a collection of educational games about gardening and the environment. To make them easier to handle, the association has asked the women of Eswatini to make the bags, hand-embroidered with the name of the games and … Read More

As part of the seed production project launched in West Africa by The Ivory Foundation in collaboration with Agrosemens, Abdourahmane, the gardener at the Bala seed farm, is currently transplanting courgettes into beds in the seed greenhouse. Courgettes are preferred … Read More

At Bala, Abdourahmane has set up a variety of crops. Two varieties of basil are grown for seed production. One is in flower and will soon be producing seeds. Okra will also be harvested once the fruit has ripened for … Read More

At Bala, gardener Abdourahmane has planted a variety of local crops, including okra, chilli peppers and cassava.

With the dormitory now complete, three young people from St Monica said farewell to the farm that had been their home for 3 years and moved to their new home in Levi’s Nek. Three young people stayed on to look … Read More

A local vegetable garden is planned to provide a variety of vegetables and herbs for their personal use.Until the garden is up and running, the vegetables have been bought from Levi’s Nek stores….

The Ivory Foundation has planned to install the Levi’s Nek farm manager, Leepa Mosehle, who has been accompanying young deaf and hard-of-hearing people in this educational farm project since 2015.  This building will include both his home and an office … Read More

Twice a week, children from the Villiot nursery help to maintain the garden. After enriching the compost with peelings from their canteen, they help to water the vegetable garden.

As part of their work tending the Traversine Villiot vegetable garden, the nursery school children from école de Bercy transplanted lettuce plants onto the mandala and the garden beds.

The climbing beans sown last April on the Traversine Villiot tipi have reached the top in just a few months!The first flowers are starting to turn into beans! This species (from Agrosemens seed) produces purple vegetables that turn green when … Read More

5 women are in charge of the cultivation beds in the Garden of Skills, a daily task carried out since 2021, when the project began in the Malanti hills in Eswatini. Growing the plants in parallel rows at right angles … Read More

Herbs and edible flowers are an important part of the crops grown in the large kitchen garden at Lauris to enhance the dishes served by the Domaine de Fontenille restaurant.

Every year, two classes from Lauris spend a day in the large vegetable garden at the Domaine de Fontenille. The treasure hunt through the vegetable garden ends with a visit to the donkey patch, which is a big hit with … Read More

One of the outdoor activities devised by Transgarden for children is a balancing game. The children turn two wheels: one indicating natural elements (pebbles, bread apples, branches, etc.) and the other indicating an area of the body (neck, forearm, elbow, … Read More

The Grand Potager at Domaine de Fontenille, which is entirely organically farmed, is an ideal refuge for insects, which enjoy the flowers in the garden and help pollinate them.

The Yagma garden team prepared courgette and maize beds before the onset of the rainy season. Maize requires a lot of water, so this season is ideal for planting and growing it. Its rapid growth will enable it to be … Read More

The Malanti greenhouse, built by young deaf and hard-of-hearing people from the Lesotho-based “Farming our Future” association, is a real asset for the women in the Garden of Skills. It enables them to sow their crops sheltered from the sun … Read More

Every day, the young beneficiaries of Farming our future take turns on the site to see the work in progress. They also help to transport materials to the site, which is difficult for lorries to access

The main buildings are now in place on the constructible part of the farm. The main building is typical of Lesotho, with its breezeblocks joined like stone and a worked cornice that surrounds and hides the corrugated iron roof. The … Read More

The exterior finishes was completed and the roof has been laid. The workers are finalising the interior fittings.  In the living room, the tiles have been laid and a kitchen has been made to measure by a joiner.

Every day, the Half Way House in Roosboom welcomes between 45 and 60 underprivileged children from the Roosboom township. To mark the presentation of the games donated by the Apprentices of Auteuil, a barbecue was organised to complement the daily … Read More

As with the Jardin des Savoir-Faire in Eswatini, The Ivory Foundation called on Wendy Lane, a designer of wooden chalets, to create a double accommodation unit for its volunteers. The advantage of these structures, pre-assembled in a workshop in South … Read More

The women in charge of the Garden of Skills at Malanti in Eswatini are preparing the selection of seeds that they will put into pots in the greenhouse. It’s a painstaking task, so as not to waste this precious resource … Read More

The Ivory Foundation commissioned a local contractor to drill and install a pump to supply water to the Levi’s Nek farm. The presence of water on the site was essential to launch the construction of the farm buildings (cement production) … Read More

As part of the extra-curricular activities at Bercy school, a colouring workshop was organised on the theme of “lucky charm” flowers by the Dessine l’Espoir association. After creating a model of their project, the children drew it on an A3 … Read More

As soon as the purchase of the land by Farming Our Future was signed, young deaf and hard-of-hearing people began to lay fencing around the plots to secure the site. This will also allow the animals to arrive quickly, as … Read More

During their visit to the vegetable garden, the children from the Bercy nursery school split into two groups. While one group looked after the garden, the other played board games created by the association around fruit and vegetables.

Children from the Villiot crèche discover the insect hotel in the traversine garden. The activity leader explains the role of each compartment adapted to a particular type of insect.

This Friday, the children of the elementary school of Bercy planted strawberry plants on the vertical wall of the garden of the Traversine of Bercy. They particularly enjoyed this activity which signs the return of spring!

Sweet potatoes at the Garden of Skills, Malanti, Eswatini The sweet potato is very popular in Eswatini, and is also suitable for sloping ground as it produces abundant creeping foliage. After each harvest, the women take cuttings from the harvested … Read More

As part of the seed project involving Agrosemens, APAF and The Ivory Foundation, Thieleme, the technician in charge of greenhouses in the Mbour region, planted courgette seedlings in the Sandiare and Nobadane greenhouses. The varieties were selected to best suit … Read More

Every day, the children of the inclusive school of the Petits Princes in Rufisque, accompanied by their teachers and Joseph,  the person in charge of the garden, take part in the watering and maintenance of the planters.

During the training course organised by The Ivory Foundation and Agrosemens in Senegal, Louis Marie Broucqsault and Cyriaque Crosnier Mangeat presented BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) as a solution for treating the pests that attack Moringa. Louis Marie noted that Moringa leaves … Read More

Cyriaque Crosnier Mangeat, from Agrosemens, provides advice in Dawady, where The Ivory Foundation has been developing a large collective vegetable garden since 2018, bringing together 150 village women on 450 cultivated plots. Observation of a tomato plant affected by acariosis … Read More

Cyriaque Crosnier Mangeat advises Joseph Gomis on the Petit Princes garden in Rufisque, Senegal.Joseph has planted aubergines in this above-ground garden on the school roof. Cyriaque has detected the presence of acariosis in the aubergines.He advises misting the leaves from … Read More

A building of more than 100m2 comprising two six-place dormitories, two bathrooms, a lounge and a kitchen was built using breeze-block. Young deaf and hard-of-hearing people played an active part in getting the project off the ground.

 Every Wednesday and Friday morning, children from the Villiot collective crèche spend an hour in the Traversine-Villiot garden. The children come with some vegetable waste from the crèche kitchen and put it in our compost, along with dead leaves collected … Read More

Louis-Marie Broucqsault, production manager at Agrosemens, is providing advice in Rufisque on the Handiscole garden developed by Designing Hope. He is advising Joseph Gomis, the garden’s manager, on how to prevent pepper blight. Louis-Marie Broucqsault, production manager at Agrosemens, is … Read More

Cyriaque Crosnier Mangeat, manager of organic seed producer Agrosemens, advises on the Dawady seed project in Senegal. Harvesting methods: You need to select healthy fruit that has reached the ripening stage of the seed carrier (a stage further advanced than … Read More

During the seed training course organised by The Ivory Foundation and Agrosemence, the women from the Dawady vegetable garden were given advice on maintaining their collective garden: watering, hoeing the plots, treating diseases with natural treatments such as neem oil. … Read More

The Nobadane seed farm is one of three seed production sites operated by Apaf in collaboration with The Ivory Foundation and Agrosemence. It includes a greenhouse and outdoor section where onions are grown for seed production. The greenhouse has been … Read More

The women in charge of the Dawady garden prepared a traditional meal based on cracked rice using vegetables from the garden (bitter eggplant, carrots, peppers) during the training provided by The Ivory Foundation and Agrosemens.

Ndioum2 is one of three villages on the outskirts of the Bala medical center where a community market garden project has been implemented with support from The Ivory Foundation. The plot has been fenced off to prevent the intrusion of … Read More

Sentiou Maka is one of the community vegetable gardens set up on the outskirts of Bala. The solar pump has allowed good irrigation of the garden and within three months, it has been fully cultivated. Thanks to the expertise of … Read More

The Dawady garden, located next to the medical center, provides 150 women with three plots of land each, with access to water. 25% of the surface is reserved to produce vegetables for the pregnant women looked after at the health … Read More

A training session has been organized by The Ivory Foundation and Agrosemens to train the women of Dawady in the use of organic fertilizers and seed production. Natural ingredients such as Neem oil and Neem cake (organic residue after pressing … Read More

Since its creation two years ago, the garden in Bala has developed well, thanks to the work of Abdurahman. The plot produces both vegetables for consumption and seed production.  It combines fruit trees such as papaya with fertilizer trees that … Read More

The women of the village of Sentiou Maka have harvested bissap leaves from their communal vegetable garden, which they will be cooking to accompany the semolina. This traditional plant is used both as a drink, by decocting the flowers, and … Read More

As part of the seed project involving Agrosemens, APAF and The Ivory Foundation, a new greenhouse has been set up at Sandiara to complete the production system, giving priority to one variety per species at each site, in order to limit … Read More

To guarantee the tightness of the greenhouse and thus the varietal purity of the seeds produced in Bala, we have installed an airlock lined with an “insectproof” textile to avoid cross-pollination. A project supported by Agrosemens and The Ivory Foundation.

The Ivory Foundation, in partnership with the French seed company Agrosemensand APAF Senegal to encourage the production of reproducible organic seeds adapted to both climatic conditions and the local market, while developing, with the expertise of Agrosemens, accessible tutorials adapted to … Read More

In order to create the Levi’s Nek farm, Farming our future had to acquire several plots of land of different sizes to create a total area of 3 hectares. One plot is dedicated to market gardening and will also be … Read More

A new gardener has just joined the team at the Half Way House in Roosboom, which is run by Designing Hope. Together with the two women who manage the centre, they are preparing new growing beds for the plants prepared … Read More

The agroforestry garden provides daily vegetables used for the preparation of meals in the canteen of the Yagma school. Peppers, onions, tomatoes, spinach, cabbage are cooked in a sauce to accompany starchy foods or mashed beans. A project supported since … Read More

The children of the Centre Paris Anim’ (CLAJE) elementary school of Bercy realized their self-portrait in the style of Arcimboldo. After colouring fruits and vegetables, the children cut and glued them to form their own face.

Designing Hope and the kindergarten of Bercy received  from the City hall of Paris 2 vermicomposters with the compost worms. We installed a worm bin with the children of the Bercy primary schools and another worm bin with the children … Read More

The children of the nursery school of Bercy and the crèche of Villiot met in the garden of Traversine-Villiot. They composted their vegetable waste (mainly peelings) and visited the garden together. Then, in the kiosk around the clover tables, the … Read More

Today, we asked the children of the Bercy primary schools to draw the vegetable garden of their dreams!  They were able to organise their imaginary garden as they wished, by placing fruits, vegetables, animals, insects, compost, ponds…While waiting for spring..

Every Wednesday and Friday morning, the children of the Villiot collective crèche spend an hour in the Traversine-Villiot garden. The children come with some vegetable waste from the nursery kitchen and put it in our compost. Even though the plants … Read More

With the children of the center Paris Anim’ (CLAJE), we collected the topinamburs (or Jerusalem artichokes) of the garden of Traversine-Villiot. They were each able to leave with a bag of several topinamburs that they had collected themselves. We prepared … Read More

Every day, the women in charge of the vegetable garden harvest fresh vegetables in order to make balanced meals for the women in training at the Garden of Skills. Designing Hope takes advantage of these training moments to promote balanced … Read More

To mark the end of autumn and to brighten up the garden, the children of the elementary schools of Bercy helped the team of Dessine l’Espoir to collect the leaves of the garden of Traversine-Bercy in Paris.  They put them … Read More

The children welcomed by the Centre Paris Anim’ (CLAJE) decorated pine cones for the end-of-the-year celebrations. They glued pompoms and stars on them, wrapped the pine cones with thread on which they threaded beads and painted the ends of the … Read More

The children of the elementary school of Bercy made a card to wish a good Christmas to their close relations. They wrote on it, drew with felt pens, cut out and glued paper and stickers. Above all, after tracing their … Read More

The children of the nursery school of Bercy in Paris were able to discover the various insects in the garden through colouring boards realised by the association.  The children coloured in bees, ladybirds, butterflies, ants, earwigs, woodlice and grasshoppers: all … Read More

The Yagma agroforestry garden, on the outskirts of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, is in full production of various vegetables!The presence of the borehole installed with the support of The Ivory Foundation during the setting up of the vegetable garden allows … Read More

In the agroforestry garden of the Yagma school, located on the outskirts of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, the students are involved in the daily maintenance of the vegetable garden.  This garden, set up on a real wasteland with the support … Read More

Strawberries do well in Eswatini! The women in charge of the Malanti “Garden of Skills” have reserved a special place for them: a circular mandala. This year, the plants have produced their first crop of fruit, as well as numerous … Read More

The children of the elementary school of Bercy in Paris were able to discover the various insects in the garden through colouring boards realised by the association.  The insects were classified according to their role in a garden, namely pollinators, … Read More

The Bala seed farm has been set up within the Kaicedrat health centre with the support of The Ivory Foundation. It includes a 200m2 greenhouse ideal for guaranteeing the varietal purity of the species. Around the greenhouse, plots have been laid … Read More

With the children welcomed by the Centre Paris Anim’ (CLAJE), the team of Dessine l’Espoir finalised the installation of the insect hotel in the garden of Traversine-Villiot.  We installed pieces of broken bricks for the staphylinid, pine cones for the … Read More

The sweet potato is very popular in Eswatini, and is also suitable for sloping ground as it produces abundant creeping foliage. After each harvest, the women take cuttings from the harvested sweet potato stalks and transplant them to new beds. 

The cultivation beds in the Malanti garden follow the principles of permaculture.  The women combine different species on the same bed that are mutually beneficial and grow compatibly in the same space. On this particular bed, the women have planted … Read More

Peppers are particularly popular in Eswatini in the local cuisine.  The harvested fruits are small but very flavourful, and will enhance the meal served daily at the Garden of Knowledge. 

In the vegetable garden of the Garden of Skills, nothing is lost!  When the women thin the carrots to encourage their growth, the young shoots are collected and cooked for the daily meal offered to the women in training.  The … Read More

Designing Hope has recruited a full-time cook for the Garden of Skills. To accompany rice or traditional semolina (pap), Spe cooks a daily sauce using seasonal vegetables from the garden. 

The greenhouse at Malanti is used both for seedling production and for starting crops in a protected area.  The greenhouse limits the impact of the sun and limits evaporation. The women in charge of the vegetable garden wear their work … Read More

In the greenhouse of Malanti, women have prepared tomato plants which they are now about to plant on prepared beds. 

In Malanti, a chicken coop has been set up in two adjoining pens.  The principle is to rotate the cultivation and housing of the animals in these two pens. The manure from the chickens enriches the soil for future crops. 

In Malanti, at the Garden of Skills, 5 women are in charge of the maintenance of the vegetable garden. The garden is organised in 80 cm wide plots, on which the association of crops is favoured in order to optimise … Read More

In the Garden of Skills, a plot of about 20 plots is reserved for the children of Malanti. They come in groups after school and on Saturdays to tend to the planting in their garden. By raising awareness among the … Read More

We organised a painting activity using our stencils representing all kinds of leaves, fruits and vegetables. They were also able to use dried leaves to create various patterns. The children made many colourful paintings to take home!

Deaf and hard-of-hearing youngsters from St Monica’s farm water the keyhole. The Keyhole is a traditional garden from Lesotho. So it was very important that the garden at St Monica’s should also have this high circular vegetable garden. The perimeter … Read More

With the children of the nursery of Villiot, we planted bulbs of tulip all around the kiosk of the garden of the Traversine Villiot. The children put the bulb in each hole and then covered it with soil before watering … Read More

At St Monica’s farm, the youngsters look after the crops, chickens and sheep.

Abdourahman, the head gardener of the Bala garden, is also in charge of three gardens in three outlying villages.  With the support of The Ivory Foundation, stakes and fences have been purchased to delimit market gardening areas operated by about … Read More

With the children welcomed by the Centre Paris Anim’ (CLAJE), the team of Dessine l’Espoir organized a workshop creation of mobiles with natural elements.  On straight tree branches, the children hung woolen threads on which they suspended several vegetal elements: … Read More

In order to fill the bottom of the growing containers of the roof garden of the school of Rufisque, the children go in search of discarded branches on a wasteland of the district near the school…  The occasion of a … Read More

One of the cows at the St Paul educational farm for the deaf and hard of hearing has given birth to a calf. The farm now has six cows.

The harvest of vegetables realized at the beginning of November in the garden allowed us to organize a meal in the garden of the residence Villiot-Râpée, in the presence of all the actors who interact regularly with the garden. The … Read More

Even in November, it is still time to sow some seeds… and it is what the children of the nursery school of Bercy did!  Hoping that the first sprouts will survive the cold winter, the children sowed yellow turnips, lettuce, … Read More

We made a harvest before the winter of the vegetables of the garden of Traversine-Villiot : leeks, potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, spinach, celery, onions, beets, tomatoes.  In order to share our vegetables with the people in the garden, we are organizing … Read More

Within the framework of a day of training organized by Unis-Cité and bearing on the topic of the environment, the young people in Civic service were able to put the hand to the paste and to collect the last green … Read More

We organised an activity with the children from Bercy school to restore the insect hotel. To do this, we prepared small branches and various natural elements to fill the insect hotel.

Every day, the children look after the vegetable garden at Roosboom, helping the women in particular with watering and tending the beds. The cabbages and spinach are harvested to accompany the meals served daily at Half Way House.

To celebrate Halloween, Dessine l’Espoir joined Double Face to allow the children of the residence Villiot Râpée to realize frightening heads of monsters. After a day spent modeling clay under the guidance of Zoé from Double Face, the children painted … Read More

The children of the primary schools of Bercy helped us to transplant in the playground’s garden the spinach which proliferated in the Garden of the Traversine-Villiot.  After digging holes in the enriched soil trays, the children planted the spinach plants … Read More

The team of the Traversine garden takes care now of four culture trays in the playground of the nursery school.  Before planting fruit, vegetables and other plants with the kindergarten children, we enriched and aerated the soil in the containers. … Read More

In October, it is still time to sow parsley, it is what we made with the children of the primary schools of Bercy.  In the school’s containers, which had been prepared with fertile soil, the children delicately sowed parsley seeds. The … Read More

On the roof terrace of the inclusive school of the Petits Princes in Rufisque, the garden developed by Designing Hope welcomes the children every week for a moment of active recreation, dedicated to the maintenance of the garden.Watering is essential … Read More

In the garden of the Traversine Villiot, our cauliflower, after having formed a compact vegetable, continued its growth. To the astonishment of the children, it has grown new stems. This is what we call the process of going to seed … Read More

This Wednesday afternoon, the team of Designing Hope organized 2 creative animations in the garden of the Traversine Villiot, one with the children welcomed by the Centre Paris Anim’ (CLAJE) and the other with the children of the primary schools … Read More

The seedlings prepared by Abdourhamane, the head gardener of the Bala garden, are a success! The shoots of the different varieties of tomatoes and aubergines have emerged from the plates with a very satisfactory germination rate. As part of the … Read More

It is autumn, it is time to enrich and to refill the tubs of the mandala and the Keyhole of the garden of the Traversine Bercy in order to prepare the tubs to welcome new cultures. The bins have been … Read More

On Saturday, September 24th, 2022, we took part in the Festival of the Residence Villiot. We welcomed children and adults of the Residence Villiot in the shared garden of the residence. The children were able to enjoy the board games … Read More

Set up in 2021 with the children and young people of the St Paul’s School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Leribe, Lesotho, the Palesa garden (Palesa means flower in Sotho, the language of Lesotho) is providing a … Read More

At St Paul’s School in Leribe, Lesotho, the 6 deaf and hard of hearing young people trained at the educational farm maintain the plots to produce the vegetables cooked at the boarding school canteen. Some of the crops are grown … Read More

6 months after the installation of the vegetable garden on the roof terrace of the Petits Princes school in Rufisque – Senegal, the containers have been filled with a variety of vegetables. They have benefited from abundant rainfall, and the … Read More

The Ivory Foundation has developed a reproductive seed production project in Senegal with the organic seed company Agrosemens. The Bala medical centre in eastern Senegal, near Tambacounda, is one of the pilot sites associated with this initiative. Abdourhamane, head of … Read More

On agroforestry schemes, fertiliser trees and fruit trees are intercropped to maximize the productivity of the market garden schemes. The former fertilise the soil for market garden production, and the latter provide additional income through fruit production.  Here in pictures … Read More

Games tables forming a four-leaf clover were installed in the Traversine Villiot. These tables are used to organise educational pedagogical activities with children from the Bercy school, the Claje (Paris Anim) and the local nursery. The four tables can be … Read More

A large 10-cubic-meter tank has been installed in the garden, fed by water from a nearby river. While waiting for the installation of a drip irrigation system, the women take care of watering the plots every morning, especially during the … Read More

The youths in charge of the St Paul’s educational farm cultivate large plots of land dedicated to market gardening to supply the school canteen with fresh vegetables.Spinach, finely chopped and fried with onions, is a very popular sauce in Lesotho … Read More

The Ivory Foundation has been supporting the St Paul’s School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Lesotho since 2015.An educational farm has been set up within the school, combining animal husbandry and market gardening to provide the school … Read More

For its first summer, the garden of the Traversine Villiot is blooming and gave many vegetables. Potatoes, leeks, cauliflower, spinach, celery, Jerusalem artichokes, squash, beets, cucumbers and different varieties of tomatoes are growing and ripening in this garden in the … Read More

The Malanti garden was built on the principle of permaculture with 80 cm wide plots on which the women grow vegetables in association in fairly dense plots. Densifying the crops allows them to limit water consumption. To prepare and maintain … Read More

When preparing the beds with the “Campagnole”, the soil is enriched by sprinkling a mixture of biochar and compost on the surface. The Campagnole will then mix this input deep into the cultivated plots. Biochar is a natural fertilizer produced … Read More

The greenhouse at the Half Way House in Roosboom, expanded with the help of the young farmers from St. Monica’s Farm in Lesotho, can now accommodate more plants, protected from the sun’s rays and from the birds and grasshoppers, which … Read More

It’s almost the end of winter… The garden is still rich of its last winter vegetables, and the young people of the farm have prepared the beds to welcome the spring seedlings. The garden team proudly presents its work to … Read More

The flock, composed of 10 sheep when the farm was launched (3 males and 7 females), has increased by 50% in 2 years thanks to three new births this year.   The sheep bring an additional income for the farm with … Read More

The vegetable garden at St. Monica’s Farm was built on the principle of permaculture, with 80 cm wide raised beds on which the young deaf and hard-of-hearing gardeners grow vegetables quite densely, combining varieties that are compatible in terms of … Read More

As part of the exchanges between the various gardens in southern Africa, straw baskets made in Eswatini were given to the children of Half Way House in Roosboom to equip the henhouse. The hens quickly adopted the baskets as nesting … Read More

Like every day of the week, the children enjoyed a healthy and balanced meal at the HalfWay House. The meal consists of rice and a sauce prepared with vegetables from the garden. This nutritional support benefits about 50 underprivileged children … Read More

In Southern Africa, Designing Hope and The Ivory Foundation strive to forge human links between the actors of the different projects they develop and support.  In 2017, the women of Eswatini and Roosboom came to train in permaculture the students … Read More

After completing the structure of the greenhouse in the Roosboom garden, the team of gardeners from St Paul’s School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Leribe, Lesotho, took charge of the interior of the greenhouse, using a grid … Read More

Our association made and installed a teepee in bamboo in the garden of the Traversine Villiot. It allows us to optimize the surface by using the principle of vertical culture. Squash, cucumbers and tomatoes grow around the tepee and climb … Read More

In order to optimise the surface area of the garden on the roof terrace of the Rufisque school, three models of growing trays structures have been designed:– The first, produced in 10 copies, allows cultivation on 4 levels thanks to … Read More

Two of the main objectives of the Garden of Skills are to become a training centre in the fields of agroecology and agroforestry, as well as nutrition, while developing a catering activity.  It is important to ensure good management and … Read More

Since the beginning of June, the Garden of Skills has been welcoming children from the Malanti community. They are divided into four groups, and come once a week from Monday to Thursday, in turn. They come after school and meet … Read More

The women use natural fertilizers such as compost, manure and biochar produced locally with the support of The Ivory Foundation to enrich the crop beds in the Garden of Skills. Grass, previously cut on the ground and then dried, is … Read More

In order to fertilize the new planting beds set up each week in the Garden of Skills, the women of Fundzisa Live, accompanied by men from the community of Malanti, went to the logging area on the outskirts of Piggs … Read More

After 3 months of installation on the terrace, the first vegetables are appearing in the garden of the school of the little princes in Rufisque.Joseph, the person in charge of the roof terrace garden, has started several nurseries in the … Read More

The mandala of Yagma garden has grown well ! Plantations of corn, cucumber, pepper, and green bean were carried out on the 8 plates of cultures forming a flower.

After enriching the soil with compost, manure and biochar produced with the support of The Ivory Foundation, the women of Fundzisa Live planted the first crops on the new cultivation beds. Various vegetables (carrots, lettuce, spinach, radishes) were planted in … Read More

The Garden of Skills is a pilot project in agroforestry whose objective is to promote agroecological practices by becoming a training center in agroforestry. Thus, following the principles of agroforestry, the women in charge of the garden have planted trees … Read More

Today, the women of the Garden of Skills planted peppers, beets, lettuce and spinach on the beds of the “Teenji” (Teen G for youth garden), the garden in front of the workshop, half of which is used for educational activities … Read More

The Bala seed farm follows the principles of agro-forestry, where a fertiliser tree nursery has been set up.  The seedlings are prepared in plastic bags deep enough for the trees to develop strong downward roots. The seedlings are prepared in … Read More

The women of the Garden of Skills harvested Jugo Beans which they then prepared with a traditional recipe. Jugo beans are beans grown in Eswatini and have a taste similar to peanuts. Once cooked in water they are ready to … Read More

To add value to vegetable production from the Garden of Skills, Tolaguele cooked the harvested sweet potatoes. As part of the nutrition training that will be offered at the garden, recipes using little salt and only natural spices will be … Read More

The first spring crops are there in the Villiot garden! Mulberry trees were planted in the first two containers and seedlings of radishes and carrots were made in the containers transformed into a greenhouse. We also planted mint seedlings on … Read More

The women in charge of the maintenance of the Garden of Skills have begun harvesting the sweet potatoes planted a few months earlier on one of the first plots of land set up on the new Malanti site.

In order to develop a model of food self-sufficiency in the Garden of Skills, the women of Fundzisa Live in charge of the garden prepare new crop beds every week to make the most of the cultivated area. A hard … Read More

New structures have just arrived on the terrace, and will make it possible to increase the surface area cultivated on the roof terrace of the inclusive school of the Petits Princes in Rufisque. The children came to discover these new … Read More

The metalworker has finished making all the structures for the roof terrace garden at the school in Rufisque. The children, enthusiastic, participated in the installation of the plastic containers, which, once filled with soil and compost, will soon welcome new … Read More

After the chilli and pepper nurseries, the animators of the Yagma garden have set up a salad nursery. A mosquito net has been put up to protect it from possible attacks by insect pests.

After having followed the training in agroecological techniques at the Yagma garden, the women started their own vegetable garden, either in the open ground or above ground, depending on the size of their plot. One and a half months later, … Read More

Transjardins has developed a memory game associating a card of an element (vegetables, fruits or garden tools) with a card representing its gesture in sign language. Other cards combine the two (elements and signs) in order to facilitate learning for … Read More

The animators of the garden of Yagma visited various schools in the surroundings in order to promulgate the educational project of the garden. As in the Villiot garden in Paris or the Garden of Skills in Malanti, one of the … Read More

With winter approaching in southern Africa, the young people at St Monica’s Farm prepared their crop beds with seasonal varieties. So they planted spinach, cabbage and tomatoes which will be planted in the garden during the dry season in winter.

Six young people maintain the Palesa Garden, the circular vegetable garden created for the children of the St Paul’s School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The garden is divided into four sections, each of which is available to … Read More

The photographs of the St Paul’s school for the deaf and hard of hearing children carried out last year in the middle of the Leribe vegetation within the framework of the project “Nature en Ville”, were reproduced in a memory … Read More

The young people of St Monica’s farm have started to use the incubator financed by The Ivory Foundation. Before any use, the equipment and eggs must be disinfected to prevent disease transmission. The eggs are then placed slightly apart on … Read More

The flock of chickens at St Monica’s Farm has grown significantly since the garden started. There are now about 50 hens of different species with varied and colourful plumage. These hens are raised for egg and meat production, providing an … Read More

A system of interlocking trays developed by Designing Hope was entrusted to the women of Malanti to optimize their plant production. This durable and resistant system avoids the use of disposable cups, which are difficult to find locally.

The access road and the construction of the Garden of Skills are now complete and everything is ready for the activities of the centre: A 100m2 workshop, an open kitchen, a sanitary block, the director’s house, the volunteers’ house, a … Read More

The greenhouse at the Garden of Skills was set up by the deaf and hard of hearing youngsters supported by The Ivory Foundation in Lesotho, modelled on the one they built for there school two years ago.  This greenhouse, covered … Read More

As part of the training of the Yagma women in agroecology techniques, The Ivory Foundation has provided garden tools and manure to enrich their respective vegetable gardens. Another part of the manure will be kept in the garden to directly … Read More

The children of the youth center of Villiot (Claje – Paris Anim) decorated wooden frames in the Villiot garden. First, they painted the outline of the frame in the colours of their choice. They then ventured into the garden to … Read More

As every Wednesday morning, the team of Designing Hope animates a compost activity with the Bercy preschool children. Two by two, the children cut fruit and vegetable peelings into small pieces and place them in the compost bins. From time … Read More

The children from the nursery were introduced to gardening at the Villiot garden by planting onion and oca bulbs on the earth beds that form the mandala. In the holes dug with their little shovels, they put potting soil to … Read More

In order to map the land, and to plan the crops, the beds at the Garden of Skills were named so that the women could better identify them. The “GreenJo” beds are located between the Greenhouse and the “Jojo tank” … Read More

For the women who have a large enough plot of land to start production in the open ground, the fourth day of training was devoted to the creation of growing beds. 19 women attended this session. Using the Yagma garden … Read More

During the visit of the Grand Potager of the Domaine de Fontenille, the Lauris preschool children were separated into four groups. Each tribe was associated with a guardian of the elements: Fuoc, guardian of fire; Aura, guardian of air; Terrà, … Read More

The children of Lauris nursery school discovered a revisited game of 7 families designed by Transjardins at the Grand Potager of the Domaine de Fontenille. The children were each given a game board corresponding to a fruit/vegetable family colour (orange, … Read More

During the third training session on agro-ecological techniques financed by The Ivory Foundation at the Yagma garden, the women created above-ground cultivation trays using used tyres. They mixed potting soil and manure to fill the tyres, which were then converted into growing … Read More

While waiting for the compost to be ready, the women made a fertile mixture of soil, plant debris and manure to line the metal containers of the above-ground structure during the second training session. This technique can be used by … Read More

The Lauris preschool children came to visit the Grand Potager of the Domaine de Fontenille. All day long, they were able to discover the different parts of the garden by participating in playful activities (sowing, composting, egg hunt, memory, colouring). … Read More

The Lauris preschool children enjoyed a calm time to realize colourings in the Grand Potager of the Domaine de Fontenille. Sitting around the mandala, they coloured their own version of the beds forming a flower. After the visit to the … Read More

In the bioclimatic greenhouse of the Grand Potager (Domaine de Fontenille), the Lauris preschool children realized seedlings. They filled their little cardboard pot with potting soil, then packed the soil. When the soil is almost at the top of the … Read More

On a table installed near the aromatics spiral of the Grand Potager (Domaine de Fontenille), the Lauris preschool children played aromatic memory. In each little pot is an aromatic herb (lemon balm, thyme, rosemary, chives, sage). The children win when … Read More

The Lauris preschool children discovered the principle of the compost in the Grand Potager of the Domaine de Fontenille. The children took turns cutting fruit and vegetable peelings into small pieces and throwing them into the compost. This activity allows … Read More

For the first training session financed by The Ivory Foundation, the agroforestry technician working in the Yagma garden made compost with the women of the neighbourhood. The principle consists of digging a 3 by 1 meter bed to a depth … Read More

The bioclimatic greenhouse of the Grand Potager of the Domaine de Fontenille is an essential tool at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, to prepare the seedlings, protected from the last frosts. It saves several precious weeks … Read More

Easter eggs hunt at the Grand Potager ! 11 leaves and flowers, chosen to be easily identifiable and recognisable, were taken from the vegetable garden, around the aromatic garden. They were placed on a board and presented to the children … Read More

With the Easter holidays approaching, the Bercy primary school children decorated small clay pots in the shape of rabbits. They painted the pots in the colours of their choice. Then they formed the ears of the rabbit by cutting out … Read More

Thanks to the maintenance of the Yagma garden by the gardener and the young volunteers, the production of crops is regular and allows a rotation of the cultivated species. Indeed, the tomato, the local aubergine and the cabbage have come … Read More

With the support of The Ivory Foundation, the AAJY association, in charge of managing the Yagma garden, organised a meeting with women from the neighbourhood who were interested in learning how to apply the good practices of the Yagma garden … Read More

A volunteer from the association “La Fresque du Climat” came to present a game with the children of the Bercy school. This game allows the pupils to become aware of climate change through a playful activity. The aim is simple: … Read More

Malem wok wok is one of the five gardens located on the outskirts of Dawady where The Ivory Foundation has financed the establishment of a market garden perimeter cultivated by a women’s MSE. Despite the difficulty of accessing water due … Read More

The garden of Skills in Malanti will be developed according to the principles of principles of agroforestry. The women have started to plant fertilizer trees and fruit trees on the land in alternation, and the cultivated plots will be placed … Read More

After the intervention of a bulldozer to create an access road to the garden from the main road, the women undertook the realization of a gutter all along the road with underground pipes in order to evacuate the water during … Read More

The women of Fundiza Live called on people from the community of Malanti to help them reinforce the access road to the garden. Indeed, after having excavated the ground, the realization of a cement gutter all along the road and … Read More

In half classes, the children come every day to help Joseph, the garden leader, for the watering of the seedlings and the preparation of the new culture containers. They were able to discover with joy the young squash and melon … Read More

From now on, the children of the Handiscole School of Rufisque participate in the watering of the crops, the collection of materials (small branches, cardboard) to prepare the compost and the seedling trays. There is a lot to do, since … Read More

“Nature in the City” on display in Rufisque! All the photographs taken in Rufisque for the “Nature in the City” exhibition were printed, framed and offered to the Handiscole school to decorate the walls. These photos were also used to … Read More

The women of Fundzisa Live have undertaken to prepare the cultivation beds inside the greenhouse of the Garden of Skills in Malanti. They put into practice the technique of “lasagna beds”. They collected materials from the field, as well as … Read More

Following their experience in Lesotho, the deaf and hard of hearing young people from St Monica’s farm in Lesotho came to help the women of Malanti to build a greenhouse similar to the one they built at the school in … Read More

The gardener of Yagma had prepared two beds composed only of parsley plants. In order to maximize the use of space and to optimize the watering of the beds, we undertook to take out half of the parsley plants and … Read More

Despite the dry season, the presence of the borehole in the Yagma garden allows for regular production of different vegetable species. The salads and tomatoes prepared in the nursery were transplanted on several beds. Cabbage, squash, beans and maize plants … Read More

For Shrove Tuesday, all the children of the Petits Princes school in Rufisque went down the street with musical instruments for a festive walk in the district. 

The new pedagogical games developed within the framework of Transjardins were shared with the school of Les Petits Princes in Rufisque. A memory game combines two different visuals: one of open fruit and one of closed fruit. A game of … Read More

The prototypes of the cultivation structures for the rooftop of the Petits Princes school in Rufisque are in place! A cover was custom made from greenhouse fabric by an upholsterer in downtown Mbour. Two side zippers allow the control of … Read More

Three big basins were bought on the market to make compost. To feed it, the children of the Petits Princes school in Rufisque went to collect branches, cardboard and leaves of shrubs on a vacant lot near the school. To … Read More

After having prepared the sifted ground, three methods were used to prepare the nursery of the Petits Princes school’s garden in Rufisque. The clod maker was used for the squash seedlings. Peppers, tomatoes, peppers and aubergines were sown in plastic … Read More

With the support of our partner agrosemens, we brought new seeds to start a new nursery in Yagma. The youngsters helped the gardener to sow peppers, aubergines and tomatoes in the clods prepared with the clod maker. Other trays were … Read More

A clod maker was placed at the disposal of Joseph, the animator of the Petits Princes school in Rufisque. This is the most ecological method of sowing seedlings in a nursery. Indeed, it avoids the use of plastic cups and … Read More

Following the exhibition “Nature en Ville” with the children of the Petits Princes school in Rufisque, Designing Hope made a memory game. It was particularly appreciated by the children, as recognising their friends helps them remember the location of the … Read More

To fill the trays of culture of the garden of the school of the Petits Princes in Rufisque, we used several organic components. First, we went to a vacant lot of land in the neighborhood to find tree branches that … Read More

Cultivating trays have been prepared using damaged plastic jerrycans. The containers have been cut in two to create two trays of 40 X 30 cm. These trays will then be placed on a three-tiered shelf that can be protected with … Read More

We chose to use recuperation bins for the plantations. For that, we contacted the company Proplast, a Senegalese specialist in plastic recycling. We ordered 400 jerry cans of different sizes, cut in half. Depending on their depth, they will be … Read More

The roof terrace of the Petits Princes school in Rufisque has an area of 60 m². In order to optimize this small surface and to increase the production of vegetables, we imagined metal structures allowing cultivation on 4 levels. The … Read More

Following the exhibition “Nature en Ville” with the children of the Petits Princes school in Rufisque, Designing Hope made a memory game. It was particularly appreciated by the children, as recognising their friends helps them remember the location of the … Read More

Happy Grandmothers’ Day ! Before leaving on holiday, the children of the Bercy school made candles to offer to their grandmothers. They painted small glass jars and decorated them with stickers, green or dead leaves collected in the school yard … Read More

The children of the Bercy primary school realized a coloured mural with the help of stencils. On a large piece of cardboard, they let their imagination run wild: they painted leaves and flowers in different colors and signed their masterpieces. … Read More

After collecting branches and cutting them into small pieces, the children at the Petits Princes school in Rufisque spread them out in the bottom of plastic recycling bins to form a water reserve.  They then fill the bins with a … Read More

A new tool was put into practice in Yagma, the clod maker which allows compacting the soil in a cube of 5cm of side in order to carry out seedlings without using plastic cups difficult to find locally. To do … Read More

During the vacations, the children of the youth center of Villiot (Claje – Paris Anim) have decorated small clay pots and wooden signs. After painting a first layer with the colors of their choice, they then added colorful patterns and … Read More

The Baobab is one of the most majestic trees of Africa, very present in Senegal. Its fruit, which is called “monkey bread”, has multiple virtues. It is 2.5 times richer in vitamin C than an orange, contains 2.5 times more … Read More

Gouloumbou is the second production site of the seed project launched in Senegal by The Ivory Foundation. Pape, the greenhouse’s production manager, has had a good harvest for this first growing season. Unfortunately, the greenhouse was hit by an attack … Read More

The greenhouse of Bala is part of the seed production programme developed in Senegal by The Ivory Foundation on three sites. Abdourahmane, who is in charge of the Bala greenhouse, has obtained very encouraging results for this first season for … Read More

Gourel Younousa is one of the 3 villages surrounding the medical center of Bala, where the Ivory Foundation is participating in the development of a vegetable garden for the women of the village. The Eau Claire association has just installed … Read More

In 4 years, the fertilizing trees of the Yagma garden have grown enormously, some of them now measuring more than 10m high. In the principle of agroforestry, the trees are initially planted every 2.5 meters.  When they start to grow, … Read More

Ndioum is one of the three villages on the outskirts of the Bala medical center that benefited from the installation of a well by the Eau Claire association. The Ivory Foundation accompanies a group of women from the village in … Read More

On the garden of Malem wok wok, discovery of a cashew tree. One recognizes the shape of its fruit: the cashew nut.

Sare Tamou is one of the five gardens located on the outskirts of Dawady where The Ivory Foundation has financed the establishment of a market garden perimeter cultivated by a group of women. In order to protect the crops from … Read More

The Villiot garden is almost ready to receive its spring crops. The last tubs have just been positioned, topped with curved metal structures, which will allow the mulberry trees to climb and form a semi-shaded passageway in the center of … Read More

In order to facilitate the maintenance of the garden and to limit to the maximum the return of the weeds, we applied the technique of the vegetable ground cover to the garden of Villiot. Along the path surrounding the circular … Read More

A set of 12 posters designed by The Ivory Foundation on health and nutrition was given to the Yagma middle school science teacher, along with a set of educational cards. This material can be used as a pedagogical support, but … Read More

One calls “living hedge”, the hedge which surrounds a garden. In agroforestry, the fence is doubled with a hedge of thorny trees to constitute a wall impassable by men and animals, which completely secures the garden. The hedge is composed … Read More

Thanks to our agroforestry garden and it’s borehole, Yagma’s garden manage to have a very productive field even during the dry season. This is made possible by the water that is drawn all year round, even during hot weather, and … Read More

Pupils from Bercy primary school made bird feeders from oranges, fruit juice cartons, and egg boxes. For the juice bricks: cut a rectangle on one side of the juice brick and place a small branch underneath so that the birds … Read More

Dans le prolongement du mandala, 6 bacs de culture rectangulaires réalisés en pin douglas ont été installés. Des structures métalliques incurvées sont prévues à chaque angle afin de créer une treille et de constituer un chemin végétalisé et accueillant vers … Read More

The children from the leisure centre in Villiot made Christmas decorations with bamboo branches, raffia, cords and the association’s “Porte-Bonheurs” flowers. The leafy parts of the branches were used to make wreaths, while the hard parts were used to create … Read More

The team of Designing Hope finalized the insect hotel at Traversine Villiot’s garden with the youngsters of the association Jeunesse Feu-Vert. First of all, a wire mesh was stapled to the back of the structure to prevent the various components … Read More

The women in charge of the Malanti garden have planted sweet potato crops. These are traditionally used on sloping land to avoid drainage and to cover areas that are difficult to cultivate as long plots, because of the presence of … Read More

The Malanti garden has a rather exceptional view of a valley in an area where the indigenous vegetation has been preserved from the intensive eucalyptus cultivation that is a threat to biodiversity in other parts of the country.

The women in charge of the Garden of Skills in Malanti have planted corn. To do this, they followed the curve of the land without clearing it all, using the Zaï technique, which consists of digging basins 20 to 40 … Read More

The first cultivation beds have been set up at the Malanti knowledge garden in Eswatini by the women in charge of the garden. These beds are cultivated strips that follow the slope of the land and are 1m/1m20 wide. Onions, … Read More

Within the knowledge garden in Malanti, Eswatini, two chalets have been built to allow the installation of dry toilets and a room for the women to store their belongings.  A road is also being constructed for which a gully is … Read More

The women in charge of the Malanti skills garden in Eswatini have created a mandala, a garden in the shape of flowers where the petals are represented by crop boards. The mandala will serve as a roundabout for the seasonal … Read More

At the Garden of Skills in Malanti – Eswatini, the women in charge of the garden improvised a spiral garden using stones from the garden. They used the stones that are naturally present in this very mountainous region of Eswatini, … Read More

The development of the Villiot garden continues with the design of the mandala, a set of cultivation plots in the shape of flower petals. A cardboard template is used to trace the petals so that they are all equal. The … Read More

The greenhouse of the Bala’s health centre, ordered from a designer based in Dakar, was brought on site and assembled by 3 technicians with the help of Abdourahmane, the centre’s head of culture. The greenhouse is made up of a … Read More

The children of the center and the staff are interested in the installation of this new garden. Today, planting peppers with the children of the staff members of the health center of Bala.

Each year, the organic seed company Agrosemens (La semence Bio) supports the association’s projects by providing reproducible seeds for the educational gardens. This valuable support will be accompanied by training in seed reproduction and conservation. Thus, the seed company and … Read More

While new plants are being prepared in the nursery, the Half Way House coordinators take care of the vegetables grown during the winter. These accompany the dishes on a daily basis served to the children at the Silethithemba centre.

Among the 13 sheets elaborated by The Ivory Foundation on hygiene and nutrition, one of them concerns hand washing and presents the design of an artisanal gel dispenser, guaranteeing a non-contact use, with a foot-activation. Put into practice at St … Read More

The aim of St Monica’s farm is to develop a self-sufficient economic model. Among the solutions to achieve this, the young farmers have developed a fodder production plot to reduce the cost of buying fodder. Every day, the young people … Read More

At the health center of Bala, it is the preparation of the trays with the seeds of the partner of the project, Agrosemens: Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and lettuce. After only 3 days, the first shoots of the different varieties of … Read More

The plots of the bioclimatic greenhouse of the Grand Potager have been cleaned and prepared in order to accommodate the winter seedlings. The turmeric plantations have thus been moved to make room for the mesclun seedlings which will benefit from … Read More

The Nobadane farm is located 10km from Diokhar. In order to increase the production of seed farms in the MBour region, the Ivory Foundation financed the construction of an additional greenhouse of 200m2. APAF has identified one of its agroforestry … Read More

Thanks to the greenhouse, the canteen of St Paul’s school benefits from an important and regular supply of fresh vegetables. These vegetables are used daily for the preparation of meals in accompaniment of the pap (traditional cornmeal) for the 200 … Read More

St Paul’s greenhouse was built in early 2021 with financial support from @the-ivory-foundation. It is covered with a semi-blackout veil allowing 60% of the sun’s rays to pass through, which limits both the evaporation of water during hot weather, and … Read More

To fulfill the important demand of the kitchens, some sprouts of Moroccan mint left the greenhouse for a large strawberry garden container. The strawberry plants were then transplanted to an earth bed near the spinach seedlings.

The Diokhar farm is the site where the local seed production project was launched in 2019 by APAF Senegal with the support of The Ivory Foundation and Agrosemens. As this project is intended to be developed on two other sites … Read More

 In order to fill the beds of cultures of the St Paul’s Palesa garden, the children with the assistance of the gardeners carried out sowings in cup for the species which does not require sowing in direct (squash, melons, tomatoes, … Read More

The Keyhole is a traditional garden from Lesotho. It was therefore logical that the garden of St Monica, located in Leribe (Lesotho) should also host one. This vegetable garden is made up on its periphery of stones found on the … Read More

At the Gouloumbou farm, the plants that were transplanted a few weeks ago are starting to produce their first vegetables. The different varieties of tomatoes, bell peppers and chili peppers have started to grow inside the greenhouse. The tomato varieties … Read More

Early 2021 thanks to the support of @the-ivory-foundation, a well was dug and a water tower composed of two reservoirs was installed at the farm of St Paul (Leribe, Lesotho). These installations secure the water supply in school and compensate … Read More

The Gouloumbou greenhouse was ordered from a designer based in Dakar and was transported to the site and assembled by 3 technicians and assisted by the entire farm staff. The assembly was done in several steps and by several teams: … Read More

To prepare for spring, spinach seeds and young shoots from the bioclimatic greenhouse of the Grand Potager of @domainedefontenille were sown and transplanted onto a cultivation bed previously weeded and prepared using the campagnole. In order to stagger the harvests, seedlings … Read More

“Alone we go faster, together we go further”, African proverb (quote). With the help of the farm’s trainees, preparation of the trays with the 9 varieties of seeds supplied by our seed partner, Agrosemens: tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, courgettes, … Read More

Spring is the ideal time for seedlings production in Southern Africa. The upcoming wet season combines warmth and regular rainfall, which is ideal for plant development. Thus, the young farmers at St Monica’s Farm in Lesotho have prepared seedlings of … Read More

We are currently in the process of developing a memory game about gardening, that would be suitable for deaf and hard of hearing children in St Paul’s School. First, children must find the sign language visual corresponding to the vegetable. … Read More

A plant shredder was purchased with the support of The Ivory Foundation. This tool reduces corn crop residues by fine chips, which thus crushed can be ingested more easily by animals and be consumed in association with forage. The deaf … Read More

The numbers in the chicken coop at St Monica’s farm are steadily increasing. There are now 35 hens of different breeds, all indigenous who produce enough to feed the young on the farm by creating an income-generating activity. Soon, an … Read More

As at Bercy school in Paris, we involved the children of St Paul’s school in Hlotse (Lesotho) in the decoration of wooden flowers which take the silhouette of Thebe Magugu’s flowers. Once decorated, these flowers will be varnished and fixed … Read More

In order to protect this new garden from damage that could be caused by farm animals, 60 meters of wire mesh and 30 poles were purchased to construct a circular fence. This fence was installed 3 meters from the trapezoidal … Read More

Palesa Garden’s plots are filled with a mixture of soil, compost and biochar. Biochar allows better retention of water and nutrients in the soil. A circular fence, which will be planted with fertilizer trees, will protect this garden from damage … Read More

  In order to allow the children to cultivate a larger area, we decided to create 8 extra wooden plots at the end of each petal of the mandala. As St Paul’s school has 4 classes, each class will be … Read More

In order to educate deaf and hard of hearing children at St Paul’s school about gardening, we asked the five gardeners in training to make a flower-shaped mandala garden and involve children in its maintenance. The mandala is composed of … Read More

Until November 20th in the garden Martha Desrumaux (Paris 12th), Dessine l’Espoir presents the exhibition “Nature en Villes”, cultural bridge between the French and Senegalese young people. Here, discover the photographs of children from the Petits Princes school in Rufisque, … Read More

The Roosboom Silethithemba reception centre Designing Hope’s local partner in South Africa, has harvested beautiful cabbage to feed the children of this underprivileged township. Good food in prospect!

Until November 20th in the garden Martha Desrumaux (Paris 12th), Dessine l’Espoir presents the exhibition “Nature en Villes”, cultural bridge between the French and Senegalese young people. Here, discover the photographs of children from the Bercy school in Paris.

Autumn is the ideal time to prepare the vegetable garden before winter. Florian and Marie came to help Emile.  The strawberry beds in the Grand Potager de Fontenille had grown so much during the season that we were able to … Read More

Until 20 November, come and discover the photographs of children from the Bercy school and the Petits Princes school in Rufisque (Senegal) exhibited in the Martha Desrumaux garden (in the 12th arrondissement of Paris). This exhibition illustrates the discovery of … Read More

Before Thebe Magugu’s “Lucky Charms” exhibition at Le Bon Marché, wooden flowers had been painted by the students of the Bercy nursery school. The children were able to express their creativity by making a stencil work with multicolored paints! Once … Read More

The Traversine garden will soon host a mini set-in-nature theatre ! First step: cutting out and colouring the paper templates that will bring to life all the stories that the children made up. Fairies, boares, feathers, pumpkin houses, she-warriors… that … Read More

Last week, children from the Bercy school gathered at the Traversine Villiot to proudly hold up the letters of the word “Diversity” topped with flowers, replicas of the “Porte-Bonheurs” (Lucky charms) designed by Thebe Magugu, that they decorated by themselves. 

In the context of the “Porte-Bonheurs” exhibition at the Bon Marché, Designing Hope wanted to involve the children of the African schools where it is implanted as well as those of the Bercy school, by entrusting them with a project … Read More

Peels, dead leaves, more peels and more dead leaves… One layer after another, our compost is built like a lasagna dish. The children were delighted to get their hands dirty to make it !

Six 1,20 metre-long wooden benches were built by Designing Hope, a good opportunity to improvise a carpentry workshop with the young people and the educators of the Jeunesse Feu Vert foundation. The theatre will be fitted out with these benches … Read More

Now that the mound is in shape, it is time to set up the nature theatre. This 4.5 metre-diameter metal structure will be entirely vegetated with woven willow and honeyhsuckle. The metal structure has been designed in such a way … Read More

Throughout the summer, we worked the soil within a depth of more than 30cm to remove all the roots of couch grass, nettles and brambles, as well as the stones that got in our way when loosening the soil. The … Read More

Now that the whole plot has been carefully weeded, it is time to redesign the garden. First step: work on the mound. On the street side, the garden forms a mound that we decided to preserve and harmonise to create … Read More

“A fertilizer tree is a tree whose activity enriches the topsoil of a land, improves its texture and favors its structuring” – Dupriez-de- Leener, 1993. There are several methods for planting fertilizer trees around the perimeter of a market garden. … Read More

The children of the center and the staff are interested in the installation of this new garden. Today, we planted peppers with the children of the midwife, Anne-Marie, and the head nurse, Ousmane Barry.

Cucumber, zucchini and corn seeds require larger cups that are not available locally. For this reason, we have decided to replace them with cardboard cups. The Gouloumbou farm will soon be equipped with a clod press to make compact blocks … Read More

The Ivory Foundation has made available a clod press at the Bala center that is used to make compact blocks of soil for seedlings that require larger cups. With seeds from the seed project’s partner, Agrosemens, Abdourahmane and Aurélien, on … Read More

With the installation of the greenhouse, it is the right time to transplant tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, peppers and lWith the installation of the greenhouse, it is the right time to transplant tomatoes, eggplants, bell peppers, chili peppers and lettuce. These … Read More

The Gouloumbou greenhouse, was ordered from a designer based in Dakar, was transported to the site and assembled by 3 technicians and assisted by the entire farm staff. The assembly was done in several steps and by several teams: – … Read More

The greenhouse for the Bala health center, ordered from a designer based in Dakar, was brought to the site and assembled by 3 technicians with the help of Abdourahmane and the employees of the medical center.  The greenhouse is made … Read More

Rainy season or winter season in Senegal starts slowly in April with the arrival of the monsoon which gradually invades the country. Rainfall increases slowly at first until August when it peaks. In September, the decrease is marked and in … Read More

The Grand Potager’s herb spiral benefitted from the last months’ sunny weather. Thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano, savory, chervil or even basil have developed on the low wall’s rocks. The aromatic garden is surrounded by a willow hedge which was braided … Read More

At the Grand Potager on the Domain of Fontenille, we tried out a raised mound technique, connected by a teepee giving inclined support to climbing beans and marrows, thanks to a weaving which was handmade with ropes. This green cover … Read More

The bioclimatic greenhouse allowed us to be right on time to prepare all the seedlings that are now growing in the garden. There are still some zucchinis to prick out, and an incredible nasturtium which spent the winter in the … Read More

The Nobadane farm is located 10km from Diokhar.  In order to increase the production of seed farms in the MBour region, the Ivory Foundation financed the construction of an additional greenhouse of 200m2. APAF has identified one of its agroforestry … Read More

Following a plan, the crop beds were prepared by Abdourahmane, the person in charge of the garden, and Aurélien, on a mission for the foundation, before the installation of the greenhouse, according to a grid allowing free movement in and … Read More

The exploration of the Grand Potager is not only one to see and to smell. The children were able to taste a couple of fruits and edible flowers, especially marigold and nasturtium. For those who feel unsure about the flowers, … Read More

On 5 July 2021, Designing Hope signed an agreement with Paris Habitat to take charge of the development of a garden in the Villiot-Rapée residence. This new garden is named Traversine Villiot and is a logical complement to the first … Read More

The children from the Lauris school dedicated themselves to a land art activity. By giving free rein to their imagination and to their sense of artistic creation, the children proposed a beautiful catalog of natural compositions. Each one of them … Read More

By partnering with APAF, an association for the promotion of fertilizer trees, The Ivory Foundation wishes to use the benefits of agroforestry in the seed production process. Several species of trees have been planted in the nursery: Mellifera, Leucaena, Gliricidia, … Read More

During a day at the Grand Potager, nursery classes from the Lauris school had the opportunity to be involved in a flower hunt. Near the bioclimatic green house and the aromatics spiral, a lot of flowers are present. The exercise … Read More

After only 3 days, the first shoAfter only 3 days, the first sprouts of different varieties of tomatoes or eggplants are emerging from the patches. In the cultivation protocol, a regular report of the number of successfully germinated seeds and mature … Read More

In front of the Grand Potager’s compost, the students from Lauris’ nursery school learned how to sort their waste. Plastic ? In the recycling bin ! Leftover chicken ? In the garbage can ! Vegetable peel ? In the compost … Read More

During the Mayor of the 12th arrondissement’s of Paris visit to the Traversine garden, we displayed the pedagogical tools which were conceptualized by Dessine l’Espoir, such as the nutrition games. The children of the Bercy school had the opportunity to … Read More

At the Bala health center, trays are being prepared with seeds from the project’s partner, Agrosemens: tomatoes, eggplants, chili peppers, bell peppers and lettuce. The trays were purchased in the region of Mbour, in Sandiara, because they are not available … Read More

During their visit to the Grand Potager, the students of the Lauris school paid a visit to the working hens. They are retired hens, which have been collected by the Grand Potager to spend a quiet retirement, after having spent … Read More

To go along with the arrival of our educational garden in Villiot, Paris Habitat commissioned the artist Pascal Schulz, accompanied by two young people from the Jeunesse Feu Vert foundation working in an educational project, to create a mural. Until … Read More

During their visit to the Grand Potager, the students of the Lauris school paid a visit to observe the pond which is located next to the henhouse, so as to learn many things about the biodiversity that can be found … Read More

The sun provides a lot to the Grand Potager, flowers are abundant and the garden buzzes with bees who come to delight in this diversity of scents and colors.

Every day, the center’s kitchen prepares the staff’s meals and the cooks make vegetable and fruit peelings available f Every day, as the center’s kitchen prepares meals for the staff, cooks provide vegetable and fruit peeling for the recently-set-up compost.A … Read More

The Bercy nursery school students took part in an unusual painting activity. After drawing branches on paper sheets, they got to decorate them with multicolored fruits, by using lemons, bell peppers, zucchinis, onions, celery and artichoke leaves as stamps to … Read More

The Ivory Foundation has chosen to set up a pilot garden in the Bala health center, which will be dedicated to the production of organic seeds that will provide seeds for the populations of the 40 villages that are visited by … Read More

The nasturtiums spent the winter in the warmth of the bioclimatic greenhouse of the Grand Potager. Here they are in full bloom, declining several shades of yellow and orange… Pleasure for the eyes and for the palate, as these flowers … Read More