Wow! What a great week at the kindergarten in Thiruchitrambaram this week. The children are becoming more accustomed to our presence and we can visibly see them relax more and recognise us on each visit.

 

On Monday we arrived with lots and lots of organic material and tools to build the raised garden beds. We finished the bamboo walls of the first three raised beds and then began building the soil. We layered organic material, soil and dry charcoal alternately, to build a thick layer of soil in each bed. This organic material can be grass, leaves, or raw compost. If it is dry, it needs to be soaked in water and pee first.

 

We wanted to do a demonstration on how to build soil so we brought bananas with us! We shared the bananas out amongst the children, the teachers and ourselves, and together we ate our bananas and then threw the peels into the raised bed! The children certainly enjoyed the snack and we hope by doing this every week, they will begin to understand that our food waste can be put back into the nutrient cycle to grow more food!

 

Each visit has been accompanied by music and on Tuesday, the children were delighted to learn how to play the Ballaphone with Ana and Tiago! This wonderful wooden African instrument, which resembles a xylophone, brought life to the kindergarten and the kids each had a go. Such fun!

 

Thanks again to Guillemont Junior School in the UK for their continued support for the kindergarten project.