Introduction of Permaculture to Schools and Communities in Southern Ethiopia

Introduction of The Permaculture Concept at Konso Primary Schools:

A PROJECT OF :

Strawberry Fields Eco Lodge Permaculture Department

KARAT, KONSO SPECIAL WOREDA (KSW), SNNPR, ETHIOPIA.

Amount requested for consultancy

 BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT

Konso

Konso is an area of southern Ethiopia situated at 5'15' N and a longitude of 37'30' E and covers an area of approximately 2300 square kilometres, ranging in altitude from 800 to 2200m, with its main agricultural zone ranging from 1400 to 2000m above sea level (Engels and Goettsch 1999). The Konso highland is a basalt massive, which runs east to west across the bowl of the Great Rift Valley. Konso's capital, Karat-Konso, is situated at 1600m altitude, located 85km south of Arba Minch, and around 590km south of Addis Ababa. The Konso people have a unique culture, based on sedentary mixed agriculture, which distinguishes them from their neighbours in the lowlands to the east and west who are pastoralists (Engels and Goettsch 1999). Konso land is poor quality and the country is cut up by deep eroded gullies and canyons. Rain is unreliable, increasingly so in recent years. Konso has repeatedly suffered from food insecurity in the past. The UNDP's Rapid Assessment Report: Konso Special Wereda, SNNPR (1999) states that; "since the 1950s, drought induced famines have hit Konso and the immediate area almost once every ten years." "Konso was devastated by the droughts in 1973/74 and 1983/84". Deforestation further reduces the reliability of rainfall as desertification begins to set in. The Belg rains which usually come in March failed to materialize this year, and food aid has been brought in again to cover the deficit.

Permaculture 

Permaculture (PC) is a methodology which addresses the issues of land's productivity and environmental degradation at the same time. It is the design of ecological systems to support human life and design of human life to fit within ecological systems without degrading them; the creation of "Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs" (Mollison, 1978).  Permaculture can also be said to be an "integrated, evolving system of perennial or self-perpetuating plant and animal species useful to man" (Mollison, 1978). The word Permaculture (PC) was coined by co-founders Bill Mollison and David Homlgren in the mid 1970's from the words Permanent agriculture. But since people, their buildings and their way of thinking are central to Permaculture, the vision of Permanent (sustainable) agriculture evolves to one of permanent (sustainable) culture. Permaculture draws together the diverse ideas, skills and ways of living which need to be rediscovered and developed in order to empower the local communities to move from being dependant consumers to becoming responsible and independent productive citizens.

The 72h Permaculture Design Course (PDC), the standard comprehensive introduction to PC, equips a person with all necessary skills to begin practicing Permaculture Design, and includes theory, practical and participatory group design exercises.

Strawberry Fields Eco Lodge

Strawberry Fields Eco Lodge is a multifaceted project working in the Konso Special Woreda, which integrates an Eco Lodge, model Permaculture farm (the first in Ethiopia) and PC design training centre and consultancy facility. Our resident trainer, Mr Tichafa Makovere from Zimbabwe has practised Permaculture in southern Africa for more than 15 years and is a veteran of the SCOPE (Schools and Colleges Outreach Permaculture Program) which has been tremendously successful in training and implementing Permaculture in schools around southern Africa in the last decades. SFEL, with Tichafa's help, now seeks to repeat these successes in southern Ethiopia. So far SFEL has given the PDC to 13 school teachers in Konso and begun implementation in 5 Konso schools, working in partnership with Save the Children Finland and other NGOs.

THE PERMACULTURE IN KONSO SCHOOLS PROJECT (PKSP)

The main purpose of the project is to empower the three Konso schools and their communities by giving them a process with which to manage their land in a sustainable way. The process allows the schools as communities to design their grounds in a participatory manner which ensures meaningful sustainable land use. In addition it is also hoped that the Permaculture project will impact the relevant areas of the school curricula in order to further strengthen the capacity of the schools and their surrounding communities to practice sustainable management of their resources.

In order to achieve the above goals, the objectives of Permaculture in Konso Schools Project (PKSP) shall be to:

• 1. Train teachers, school directors, pupils and parents of the integration of Permaculture in designing their schools.
• 2. To assist the three schools in the pilot phase of the program to come up with holistic designs of their grounds and develop appropriate monitoring mechanisms for these three Permaculture designs.
• 3. Produce resource materials for use by the schools and their communities by translating them into Amharic and Afan Xonso.
• 4. Conduct Schools Permaculture implementation competitions to enhance schools efforts.
• 5. Provide a forum for seed exchange and exchange of visits for the Permaculture pilot schools and communities to build capacity of their learning experiences.

BENEFICIARIES

The PKSP is directly aimed at the schools is directly aimed at the schools-in-the-community. However among the immediate beneficiaries will be different levels of people within the Ministries of Education, Agriculture, Environment and Tourism. Within the schools and communities beneficiaries will include the learners who will be actively involved in the implementation of the Permaculture process at their schools. The staff and parents will acquire improved agricultural skills through designing school grounds in a participatory way. 

Schools will be able to generate income through the sale of food and seedlings produced after the successful implementation of the program. The schools will benefit from the production of relevant resource materials, which can be used to enhance learning from integrating aspects of Permaculture into formal and informal curricula. The participating pupils, teachers and parents will practices Permaculture principals at home, resulting in the program extending into the community. The improvement will help to reduce run-off and soil loss.

DURATION

The project is expected to take 2 years, by which time it is hoped that the Permaculture design process will have been well introduced into the school system. At the end of the program it is hoped that relevant government departments would carry or take over the Permaculture process and integrate it into the school system. STCF/SFEL may also expand into other schools in the KSW or throughout the SNNPRS and Ethiopia in general if they see fit.

CONTEXT

Land use systems in Ethiopia in general tend to mono-culture and profit oriented, even if this has been at the expense of achieving long term sustainable land use. Very little attention has been given towards the long term effects of present day-to-day land use approaches, among other things application of artificial chemical substances into the soil has become the norm. This approach has brought about social injustice and economically unsound and environmental destruction. Ecological accounting has been disregarded. Ecological accounting makes careful checks balances while building sustainable systems on which future generations will depend on. Schools are the most appropriate model to address the environmental degradation. The PPSP will increase awareness on land degradation, and will offer alternative skills. The environmental degradation currently occurring in Ethiopia is very high and schools are effective vehicles for attitudinal change and positive action to redress instead of watching the land degradation helplessly. The program is meant to demonstrate to the community and the country at large how erosion can be cured. The tree schools will act as training and demonstration centers for the community and the students. The program will also demonstrate how trees and crops can be blended based on holistic resource management principals and Permaculture designs which put emphasis on linking elements as they complement each-other in the establishment of an ecosystem conducive for increased productivity in harmony with nature.

Of the three school which will participate in the pilot project it hoped that there will be very good examples to prove the applicability of the Permaculture project irrespective of the geographical elements. In these examples, attitudes will become positive, goals will be formed, productivity will be increase and participation of communities will be enhanced.

JUSTIFICATION OF THE PROGRAM

There is a serious problem of land degradation in the country. The schools are often bare and uncontrolled run-off causes much erosion. Frequent strong winds blow off roofs when these could be protected by simple wind breaks. Wind erosion turns the school grounds into dust bowls during the dry season. A practical understanding of the system is crucial for sustainable management of resources. Apart from gains to be made from the conservation of environment, Permaculture empowers schools to increase their food security and income generating capacities.

EXPECTED RESULTS

• 1. Pupils parents and teachers will be aware of some environmental dangers and how degradation can be addressed. It is hoped that considerable effort will be put in trying to change their homes and the local surroundings from where teachers and pupils come.
• 2. Local communities around participating schools will learn from the school about Permaculture. It is hoped that they will in turn practice the methods to address environmental degradation in their own areas.
• 3. School grounds will be designed in a way that will improve soil fertility and schools will be able to produce food while improving ecosystems. The diversity of plants should generate income for schools.
• 4. Skills will be developed in all participants so that they can offer change to their surroundings for the better, environmentally, instead of watching land degradation hopelessly.
• 5. Schools will have access to resource materials on sustainable management of resources.

REPORTING

The schools Permaculture implementation will be monitored by the SFEL Permaculture Department. As part on an on-going monitoring process various reports will be produced on a regular basis. The following will be key elements of the reporting process.

• Ø Monthly progress reports on the schools by SFEL.
• Ø Quarterly reports from the 3 participating schools providing feed-back on the implementation process.
• Ø Termly reports to each of the participating schools by SFEL.

SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES

• 1. Training Workshops
• 2. Planning Workshops
• 3. Implementation Workshops
• 4. Follow-up visits
• 5. Backup materials
• 6. Schools competitions, field days, etc.
• 7. Travel and subsistence
• 8. Refresher courses for teachers
• 9. Video production
• 10. Seed and seedlings production
• 11. Exchange visits
• 12. Monitoring and evaluation

SFEL PERMACULTURE PILOT SCHOOLS (ACTION PROGRAM - 1 year) 

MATERIALS AND TOOLS NEEDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION 

• 1. Various seed samples for each of 3 schools
• 2. Various nursery seedlings for of 3 schools
• 3. Vegetable nursery for of 3 schools
• 4. Shovels, hoes, forks, animal manure, compost, polythene planting packs, budding knives and equipment, nails, string, Eucalyptus poles (thin), and watering cans.