Coronavirus – The accelerator of Organic-farming?
In our April newsletter, we regretfully announced that we were forced to close the school following the outbreak of the Coronavirus & the Ethiopian safety recommendations put into place to protect public health. So, we wanted to come back to you with news from the school and the garden.
For the time being, no reopening date has yet been announced for schools and universities in Ethiopia. As the school year ends at the end of June, the programme will normally resume at the beginning of the school year 2020. Indeed, the country will now entre the rainy season, running from about mid-June to the end of September. During this period the weather appears to be slower, crops are reduced and, depending on the region, movement is limited.
As a result of this particular situation, students in GFF, but also in all schools in Ethiopia, will not be able to complete their school year. At the beginning of September, they will resume where they left off, as they did not finish in June as planned. However, this means that we will not be able to accommodate another batch of students at the start of the 2020 school year.
Meet the team
Although the school is closed and our students are temporarily absent, taking care of the school garden has not been stopped. As travel is restricted, the size of the cultivated land has been reduced. But the harvests are very successful at the moment and the first sales of herbs and vegetables have started in the form of baskets delivered directly to clients. We warmly thank our garden team for staying on the job and ensuring the garden’s prosperity during this period!
Kassahun Lemi Woyessa
Kassahun is the latest person to join GFF in Ethiopia. He took on the role of project manager and coordinates the team on site. He is also our organic farming expert.
Shimelis Ayele
Our garden assistant, Shimelis has been with GFF since the very beginning of the project. He looks after all the practical aspects of the school garden. In particular, he was involved in the development of the vegetable baskets during this period.
The corona virus puts organic farming into perspective
This period of uncertainty that we are currently experiencing has at least had the merit of putting our consumption habits into perspective. Indeed, more and more people are seeking to consume more responsibly in the wake of this public health crisis.
For the Green Flower Foundation, we see this as an opportunity to share the benefits of an agriculture that respects the earth and its living beings. As health and the environment are at the heart of current concerns, we wish to increase our communication in this direction so that everyone realises the benefits of eating food that has been grown without chemicals or pesticides.
By offering baskets of fresh, locally grown organic herbs and vegetables delivered to clients, the Green Flower Foundation is directly responding to the needs of consumers: a local service that puts quality and health first.
Visit of the Oromia Bureau
Last May, we were visited by the Oromia Bureau. This supervisory body of the Oromia region visited the Bishoftu Polytechnic College to carry out an evaluation of our project. The experts provided a relevant analysis, raising areas for improvement and recommendations for taking the project forward, but also highlighting our strengths.
In particular, we received compliments on the internships and company visits organised for the students, the equipment (computer and garden equipment) installed at the college to facilitate teaching, as well as the training courses in which our teachers took part in order to train them in the field of organic farming.
We are delighted that our efforts have been rewarded by the local authorities!
We need your help so that our students can complete their training!
The Green Flower Foundation, like many other NGOs, is suffering from the current situation. Some of our donors have decided to reallocate their budget to support the crisis related to COVID 19, leaving us in a period of uncertainty.
Today more than ever, we need you! Make a donation and allow the GFF to continue to contribute to the improvement of a country’s quality of life by teaching the younger generations the benefits of environmentally friendly agriculture.
It is important for us to enable them to complete their training, so THANK YOU for them!