Food sovereignty is the right of people to have healthy, nutritious food in accordance with the culture of their territory, in addition to deciding how it is produced, distributed and consumed.
To teach children its importance, Apaeef has an agri-environmental monitor who since 2018 has been accompanying infant and primary schools in the management of their school gardens and directs the maintenance activities of the garden with the students throughout the school year.
Fina Prats, the coordinator of the project, explains that "in the first years we worked with quarterly proposals,.... the seed sown was gaining strength and growing, until in 2022 the first financing agreement for 10,000 euros per year was signed with the City Council of Sant Antoni de Portmany, which meant the consolidation of the project".
Within the scope of these activities, the promotion of healthy eating is also discussed, showing the origin of food, the importance of organic farming, the potential of the garden as a working tool for the study of other subjects and the knowledge of local varieties and native livestock.
The activities in the garden allow learning about other issues that are also important, such as the water cycle and plant life, and endogenous resources. The promotion of recycling, composting, and the promotion of culture and traditions through biodiversity.
The way of working with the schools is developed from meetings with the teaching teams to decide the target groups to which the tasks in the garden are directed, the weekly time planning, and the location and needs of the garden in each center.
Today, thanks to this collaboration, more than a thousand children in the municipality have learned where their food comes from, which is in season, how to grow it and even how to cook it. In this way, children become more aware and more prepared citizens for the environmental and food challenges of the future.
