A couple of noteworthy events (well to me anyway) happened very soon after I arrived in Yangon in the New Year. I failed to mention them in week 20 so forgive the chronologically chaotic order of this pot-pourri of memories that form the blogs. Read more »
The hardest thing about writing a blog is making oneself do it. I’ve now been in Myanmar 24 weeks but in the last ten months have managed only 19 blogs. Two have been lost in the ether of laziness or more truthfully, the fact that I’d exhausted my capacity to say anything newsworthy or entertaining, and a further three are waiting to be written, this being the first. If I had the capacity to think ahead, I would have taken on board the need to make hay when the sun shines – and its incessant now – which in my simplistic of minds can be translated into committing newsworthy items to the keyboard and pressing the ‘saved document’ icon before it disappears in my amyloid encrusted brain cells that diminish with each refreshing Myanmar beer. Read more »
Architect, Edward Dale-Harris reports on making Compressed Earth Blocks- a more sustainable option to bricks. Not only do they keep the room cooler, the emissions from brick making are extremely high. Compressed Earth blocks also have a quicker drying time, making them more efficient and they use readily available materials- rather than costly cement which might have to be transported from elsewhere.
Will this be a worthwhile technique to apply in the Green Shoots Agritech Centre? Read more »
I felt the biggest challenge on 10 November 2017 would be the smooth running of our fundraising event in Brixton- however, that was until I had to parallel park outside the venue!
A few months in planning, the fundraising event was to unveil the designs architect firm Squire & Partners had been working on for a brand new Agri-tech training Centre for Green Shoots in Cambodia. Read more »
I realise now that if you write a blog, you tend to gravitate to the same old topics which can be a tad tedious for readers but is comfortable home territory for the author who, if like me, starts and finishes penning these without any idea as to what he’s going to tap out on the keyboard. To assist me in this, I need the stimulant of a few espressos at the local coffee shop in the Myanmar Plaza. Avid readers will remember it is my go-to place for Western coffee and other delicacies. So, outside of doctoring, my comfort topics are undoubtedly accommodation, dress, and food, which, so as not to change the habit of 16 weeks, is where I start today. I am now happily ensconced in my third flat since first arriving nine months ago and, I have to say, this is the equivalent to a Mayfair penthouse by previous Myanmar standards.
Trifle late with the blogs so you, whoever you poor souls might be, have three to catch up on as quickly as I can write them. So here I am back in Yangon, refreshed after a 6-week break summer back home being a retired but not too inactive pensioner, returned, reinvigorated and ready for action, a phrase I realise suggests a place in the six-nations team or serving in Afghanistan, neither of which have ever been in my grasp or indeed dreams and are certainly not pencilled in on my bucket list. But back in the thick of things in the clinics (picture) I am and thoroughly enjoying the challenges again. Read more »
The week before I started repeatedly checking the weather forecast. Organising an outdoor event in October has its drawbacks- and on Thursday it went from being clear skies to overcast. Soon, rain was to follow. However, that was not going to come in the way of Green Shoots and Bandstand Beds joint fundraising picnic, A Taste of Asia on the Common, at the community run vegetable garden in South London. Read more »
It is coming up to three years since Green Shoots Foundation held their first teacher training, or Training of Trainers session, in Samrong town, Odar Meanchay Province NW Cambodia. Part of their Agriculture Skills in Public Schools (ASPUS) Project.
I first arrived in Samrong in October 2013. It was small, nondescript and dusty- however; in just a few years it has become one of the most beloved locations on my travel calendar.
In September 2014 Green Shoots Foundation, along with our local partners CIDO, finalized a Training of Trainers program for teachers in 42 local schools to introduce skills for setting up and maintaining vegetable gardens. Not only that, we made sure the training schedule included information on how to impart this knowledge to their students and measure the progress of each garden. Teacher feedback on training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPXmNZ_Q-ec
Each school signed a three year contract stating that (annually) they would have at least three batches of 30-35 students, they will grow 5 types of vegetables and in return they would be provided with all the necessary equipment, training, technical support and have their water resources updated if needed. This is in line with Green Shoots holistic outlook of “a comprehensive approach coupled with routinely monitoring and evaluating to keep the project grounded and assess realistic impact”
Since September 2014, 42 schools have set up vegetable gardens and selected batches of 35 students per school to be trained. Out of which, a number of schools are already on their second or third batch. Adding up the numbers shows almost 5,000 students have been trained and working on vegetable gardens. Video of students in the garden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTaUO47AAqM
Students have been at the core of ASPUS, taking home not only the skills learnt but also produce that is harvested. The remaining produce is sold in the local markets and each garden can earn, on average, USD 50 per harvest.
Besides students, another aspect central to this project is the community. A year into the program we can envisage the dynamic being established where the vegetable garden, with its newly dug ponds and fresh produce, could play a strong part in community cohesion and showcasing best practices. It reinforces our aim of “demonstrating to youth that a rural economy can be thriving”.
However, the past few years have not been easy. A commitment to having an organic, chemical free harvest comes at a cost- and this can at times be the morale of teachers and students. How do you keep up spirits when produce is prone to pests and disease can spread quickly?
Green Shoots Foundation focuses on building the capacity of local partners, by brainstorming and sharing knowledge we aim to improve on project delivery and keep best practices fresh. This in turn encourages teachers to experiment and seek new ways. For example, we will source and share information on improving the “recipe” for natural pesticide and herbicide. Our local partner will make, on average, 8 technical visits per quarter- checking up on health of gardens and making sure products are applied at the right time and in the correct quantities.
Another crucial success factor in vegetable gardens is a management plan – and this is truer for shared spaces such as school gardens. It is imperative for teachers to have a plan for student management. For example, dividing up students in groups to look after specific portions.
Going forward, we actively encourage small competitions within the school gardens and organizing refreshers courses for teachers to top-up skills. Trial and error is one of the most common ways of establishing a productive garden. So another ingenious solution could be “pairing up” of schools to co-develop each other’s skills. Another option could be to provide a “loan” to schools which incentivises them to preform better and then feeds into a larger revolving fund.
However, there can be gaps within local knowledge and Green Shoots is adamant to bring new skills and techniques to its partner. We both recognize that combating climate change is another key success factor. This can include, boosting our partner and subsequent vegetable gardens capacity to prepare for hot weather, lack of water and an increase in pests and disease.
What happens next?
As a program designed for youth to ensure livelihood opportunities, we plan to follow our “graduates” into the next stage of their life.
In 2018 we will be entering a new realm of agri-training. We hope to be at a stage where we can offer that plan B to motivated students interested in pursuing agriculture as a career option. This will involve not only a vocational training centre but also providing scholarships for higher education in agriculture…..so watch this space.
As a charity registered in the UK and the USA we are open to partnerships that can improve on knowledgeshare. If you are interested in sponsoring a vegetable garden, or learning more, you can contact us to help meet targets and bring skills and healthy local produce to students in Cambodia!
‘Google Image’ Putao and you see an idyllic town at the foothills of the Himalayas, far from the madding crowd with undulating hills, see-through blue rivers, snow-capped peaks, and seemingly perpetually bathed in glorious sunshine. Lest you be fooled, this is not the sort of destination in the Abercrombie and Kent brochure for would be honeymooners but is a city of two seasons – rainy and winter: sunshine blesses it but 30 days in the year and unfortunately the week of my visit fell right in the middle of the rainy season. Read more »
They say the British always talk about their bowels. I must admit to being culpable of this habit and so I promise to make this an (almost) tummy-related free blog. The trouble is that there is an embarrassment of riches for the ID physician, everything from simple malaria to Zika and dengue, from filariasis to liver fluke and unusual fungi, but also to a plethora of gut afflictions, namely enteric worms, parasites, and bog-standard tummy-bugs; and apologies for all the unintended puns.
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