The seed, plant, fruit: journey among the world's roots

Nom du partenaire

Ithitwe Primary School di Meru - Kenya
Meru Herbs Kenya Association
Associazione Accompagnatori Naturalistici
NGO Lvia
Antenna Missiomondo Onlus
Associazione Arboreto Prandi, expert in food herbs
Municipalities of Villanova, Mondovi and Franosa Sottana, Volunteer Public Assistance Valli Monregalesi

Role:

Autre
Autre
Autre
Autre
Autre
Autre

Autre:

School involved in twinning
Participation in the planning and support to the twinning with Kenya
Participation in planning, lessons, workshops and educational trips
Specific intervention
Specific intervention: lesson and workshop
Specific intervention
Logistics and/or economic support

Name of establishment / organisation

Istituto Comprensivo Villanova Mondovi

Contact person

Maria Grazia Chiriotti

Contact details

0174 345303

Address

c.so Marconi 37

12089 Villanova Mondovì

Italy

Start date and duration of project

01/09/2014 to 30/04/2015

Level

Middle school
Nursery school
Primary school

Topics

Environment and natural resources, Food, Global citizenship, Intercultural understanding, The economy

Subject areas

Geography, History, Languages, Other, The arts

Please specify how the project was carried out

Interdisciplinary project with activities conducted:

in the classroom, by teachers, with the participation of NGO/companies/cooperatives/testimonies of the territory and, in peer education form among students of different school orders
outside the school, in the area, through educational trips and moments of communication, sharing, awareness and fundraising for families and the community
at home, on the part of individual students and in collaboration with families.

Teaching and learning objectives

Rediscovering and enhancing the rhythms of nature and the natural resources of the territory (wild fruits or antici, spontaneous and cultivated herbs), learning the peculiarities
Learning how to choose supply models that respect the environment and humans from the knowledge of trade channels of food and production sectors
Promoting empathetic and ethical behaviours, developing an awareness of the connections between the North and South of the world and learning to transfer experience and knowledge to other contexts

How did the project originate? What needs does it address?

The project stems from the intention to compare sustainable production realities in physically distant places, with a view to intercultural exchange and integration of knowledge, to educate to preserve biodiversity by promoting lifestyles that respect territories, the environment and traditional knowledge. Through the facilitation of the Meru Herbs Association, it was possible to relate with the school Ithiwe, in Kenya, with which a path of exchange and parallel thematic insight was realized.

Summary

Thanks to the involvement of Meru Herbs, the project was developed in parallel in Piedmont and in Kenya. Both schools started from their local level and, albeit with different methods and levels of study, learned good practices and knowledge related to their natural resources, acquired awareness of the interconnections between North and South of the world and the existence of more effective and sustainable production and trade methods.

PHASE 1 - Learning about local biodiversity

Local products (herbs, fruits, vegetables):

activities in the classroom: insights, interventions by experts, graph productions, creating a herbarium
in the territory: outings to pick herbs, for research and interviews on local traditions

PHASE 2 - From local to global

production sectors and trade: comparative insights, visits to markets, shops and local supermarkets, fair-trade shops
knowledge of the south of the World: meetings with the associations involved in the project
twinning with the Ithitwe school: mutual knowledge, correspondence, drafting of food diaries

PHASE 3 - Active citizenship and international solidarity

participation in Mother Earth Day with enhancement of experiences underway
internal contest between schools: design a logo for t-shirts
realization of a video, recipe book, final book
final event with set-up of an ethical fundraising market for the Ithitwe school, flash mobs and singing

Did your project have a final outcome ?

realization of a summary book of the experiences conducted and documentation video of the path
final event with the realization of: flash mob with percussion workshop, T-shirts with designed logo
participation in Mother Earth Day

What communications and dissemination strategy was used for the project ?

The project transversely communicated the activities and results achieved to families and local communities. In particular, the project involved:

publication of materials produced in local newspapers, on the website of the school and the Meru Herbs Association
participation in Mother Earth Day
enhancement of the project within the events promoted by the Local Entities of the territory.

What outcomes and changes did the project generate ?

Specificity of the project was the growth path that characterized both students in Piedmont and students in Kenya. They:

learned, valued and understood the importance of preserving local biodiversity
developed attitudes of empathy, solidarity and more open-minded mentality towards children of other origins
developed an attitude of reciprocity, highlighting the existence of good practices and resources specific to each context, enhancing North/South interconnections

Families and teachers in Italy grasped the importance of being adequately trained on the issues in question, to act as informed citizens.

What difficulties did you encounter when implementing your project ?

Difficulty in:

planning interdisciplinary work between teachers and in changing the class hour structure to allow alternative and extracurricular education sessions
involving school staff

What factors made it easier to carry out your project ?

The transversal collaboration of different school orders, according to a peer tutoring approach
The possibility of developing a path of direct knowledge with the Global South, and the presence of an NGO that facilitated and guaranteed relations between North and South
The possibility of combining classroom work with field trips
Family involvement

Which factors are most related to global education ?

The promotion of students' leadership and the enhancement of diversity
The ability to highlight the planetary interdependencies between local and global phenomena
The definition of relations of cooperation and exchange with other areas in the North and South of the World with a view to mutual enhancement
The active and aware promotion of a fundraising initiative

How did you assess the project ?

Evaluated peer tutoring activities between students of different school orders, the realization of texts and materials, the participation and commitment of students. Tools used: classroom reports and documents, completion grids, summaries, closed-answer questionnaires, observation by teachers.

Any comments

The strength of the twinning was the development of an education path for global citizenship both in Piedmont and in Kenya, from the exploitation of local resources and highlighting best practices to protect biodiversity that can be implemented in both contexts. The real "reciprocity of relationships" was guaranteed by the mediation of Meru Herbs. The schools involved hope for the continuation and strengthening of relations also in the future.

Contact

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