Cecil John Rhodes primary school joins the SCOPE Community of Practice

Particpants making a swale at Cecil John Rhodes Primary School

A five (5) day Integrated Land Use Design (ILUD) implementation workshop facilitated Tembi Mungani was held at Cecil John Rhodes Primary School from 2-6 May 2021. The workshop brought together 20 women and 10 men. 16 of the participants were aged 5-14 and 2 aged 16-35. The rest of the participants were adults.

The workshop was conducted using the 80% practical and 20% theory approach covering the introduction to ILUD, permaculture and agro-ecology. During the 5-day workshop, participants learnt about Permaculture and agro-ecology; maximum land utilization and how to establish food security through making food forests, kitchen gardens among many other things. “Water management was among the things we learnt, we managed to make swales and banana circles for rainwater harvesting”, said Mrs Nemutenzi.

A nursery was also established for raising tree seedlings which we will use for reforesting our community.

We also learnt how to make composts and recycling which will help in soil and waste management. As a young person, these things will greatly benefit me, my family and my peers. Among the benefits gained are to be food secure, to be able to conserve our land and vegetation. In addition, we will earn income as well as improving our cultural diversity and values.