Benefit 700 Moroccan girls through school gardens

When we reported last, the girls at Dar Taliba boarding house were busy working with our project partners to complete 6,000 m2 of new school gardens. Since then the recreational garden, which is now fully furnished with wooden tables and benches, has become a hub for learning about conservation and studying. “The girls have been studying outside whenever they can”, said Jamila, Dar Taliba director.

Although winter brought heavy snow and rain to the Ourika Valley, the girls have participated in a host of permaculture training sessions. Throughout December and January, all 128 girls received training on the use of organic fertiliser from our partner RADIANT Design. They learnt about the negative impacts of chemicals on the soil, such as pollution, and how  organic fertilisers are more sustainable in the long-term as they protect our soil, animals and local biodiversity. With this new knowledge and understanding, the girls were then taught how to make natural fertilisers themselves using the plants grown in the gardens. The classes were a huge hit:

“I really enjoyed learning about organic fertilisers”, Leila, aged 14, told us. “It surprised me how simple and cheap it is, and how it will benefit plants and vegetables to grow”.

The organic fertiliser was finally ready for use this week and the girls are confident their home-made product will work its magic soon. You can read more about what the girls learnt in our online blog.

After a busy few weeks of school exams, followed by a two-week winter break, we kicked off the new semester with a session on seed planting during which the girls planted tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, zucchinis, onions, green beans … the list goes on! You should have seen the excitement on their faces when we announced they had planted over 800 seeds during the first two sessions alone. “I planted so many seeds today, I just can’t wait to see them grow!”, Salma, aged 13, said. The students will water their seeds (or ‘babies’ as they now refer to them) every day until they are ready to be taken home where they will replant the seedlings in their communities.

As you can see from our pictures, thanks to a very wet winter and all the girls’ hard work, the gardens are flourishing and the first harvest of the year has been collected. The girls are now able to pick fresh turnips and carrots, amongst others, which are prepared for freshly cooked school meals such as the traditional Friday couscous.

With spring just around the corner and the girls back in Dar Taliba after a well-deserved vacation, we are all super excited for our upcoming trainings and seeing the newly planted vegetables grow! 

It’s thanks to the generous donations of our GlobalGiving supporters that we are able to continue to transform the Dar Taliba garden into a wonderful place to learn and grow. Thank you!

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