The ‘Promotion of School Gardens for Better Nutrition’ is a pilot project implemented by the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation in Cambodia. The project commenced in 2015, with the aim of using school gardens as a tool to develop agricultural skills and share knowledge about nutrition with school going children. One year later, the project has achieved considerable milestones, by developing a comprehensive curriculum for training trainers and by setting up a training pool of government representatives from different ministries, both at the national and sub-national levels. These “master” trainers are equipped with the technical know-how to train teachers across Cambodia on how to set up school gardens and use them to teach agriculture, nutrition, math, Khmer, life skills and other subjects as required. Teaching tools are also being developed for teachers and students in grades 4, 5 and 6. The CARD and FAO school garden team believe school gardens have the potential to provide a manifold and impressive teaching tool in Cambodian schools.

Encompassing an area of 15 by 20 metres, a garden in Kauk Slor Khlanch primary school in Battambang’s Bavel district Cambodia, displays the vegetables and fruits of pumpkins, tomatoes, lemon grass, morning glory and papaya. The school garden helps achieve a core objective of the project, which is to provide experiential learning to school going children on agriculture and nutrition and break the monotony of theory with practical activities. It is hoped that the teachers and pupils who benefit from this project share their knowledge with parents and surrounding communities.

Ms. Nhean Vanna, a grade 5 teacher in Kauk Slor Khlanh School, who has been in her career for seven years, said that teaching and gardening are close to her heart. It is the first time she has observed a multi-vegetable garden at her school. She has actively participated in taking care of the school garden since the pilot project was initiated in her school, with the help of colleagues and students.  

“The school garden is important. It is a learning tool where students can apply the theories from class into real practice,” says Vanna. She points out that the school garden encourages children to learn and work together. “Students love their garden. Sometimes, they come to take care of it on the weekend and in the evening. We learn to grow together, we take care of it together and we have harvested vegetables from the garden several times together. I hope students will take what they learn from school to apply at home.”

Mr. Uth Phum, principal of Kauk Slor Khlanh primary school, said he at first faced opposition from some parents. However, these same parents now embrace the project and would like to see it expanded into the community, through the provision of extension worker services and training. The parents hope their children will bring the knowledge they learn from school and apply it at home.

He explains; “Parents were at first resistant to their children participating. They were concerned in particular about children having to engage in extra work at school. But after I met with them and explained that the garden would be used to teach children about nutrition they changed their perspectives.” They ate the vegetables we grew and said they tasted very good. Now they use the natural gardening techniques at home and have requested our organic fertilizer formula”. 

In early March 2017, a community day event took place in Kauk Slor Khlanch primary school. The half-day event brought together more than 200 people; school children, teachers, community members and local authorities. The event provided opportunities for participants to visit and learn from the experience of the best-performing schools and to encourage community members to engage in school gardening. The students also engaged in activities that helped them learn more about a healthy food plate, the food pyramid, physical activity and gardening. Some of the children also shared their experiences of gardening activities within the school.

Mr. Teng Vong, father of a grade 6 student who took part in the community day, said that his son has begun to pay much attention to his home vegetable garden. His child helps him take care of their  garden by watering, fertilizing and weeding. “I hope the knowledge of gardening will be disseminated widely in my community through our children. We want to grow organic vegetables in our home so that we can reduce expenditure and improve our health,” explained Mr. Vong.

 The ‘Promotion of School Gardens for Better Nutrition’ project has provided gardening tools, vegetable seeds and simple water tanks to target schools, to assist in setting up the gardens. The project is being piloted for a 24 month period (2015-2017) and is being implemented within 30 schools in Battambong, Kampong Thom and Siem Reap provinces, Cambodia. The project activities are implemented under the overall coordination of CARD in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Rural Development as well as UN agencies including WFP, UNICEF and UNESCO.