Bio-intensive gardening to support school-based feeding program

BIO- INTENSIVE gardening, or BIG, was founded by the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), a 95-year-old international organization that empowers communities to overcome poverty. IIRR’s bio-intensive gardening standard for schools in the Philippines has also been adapted in Cambodia and South Sudan. The standard contains gardening principles and practices to enable schools to sustain their gardens and strengthen their links with schoolbased feeding programs. IIRR is working closely with the Department of Education in Cavite, spreading the practice to 373 public elementary schools and 36 day care centers in the province.

It is a fact that hunger and malnutrition are threatening the poor more than ever before. In schools and households levels, there is a dire need to identify, learn and disseminate appropriate technologies to support food security and nutrition programs. Most rural communities equate gardening with hard work and poor economic return. Reliance on external inputs makes gardening unsustainable for resource-poor families. Simple technology with BIG benefits is imperative. The bio-intensive gardening approach developed by IIRR has been tested, modified and simplified over three decades. By keeping the cost low and sustainability high, we have made significant inroads in rural reconstruction.

One of IIRR’s tried and true techniques involves the use of narrow deep dug beds fertilized entirely with green leaf manure from the local kakawate (Gliricidia) shrub. Similar fastgrowing shrubs exist in every country.

A simple, low-external input and ecofriendly practice, BIG technology subscribes to principles that make it particularly suitable to schools and poor households in combating hunger and malnutrition.

BIG’s premise is that the sustainability and productivity of gardens largely depends on healthy soil and the availability of good quality seeds. BIG therefore is environment-friendly. By using only organic fertilizers like nitrogenfixing plants or natural pesticides, BIG builds soil health.

BIG is also adaptive to local conditions. It uses locally available materials ( indigenous seeds, crops). Moreover, it is low-cost. It does not require heavy use of chemical inputs like fertilizers or pesticides, and uses recycled seeds or other plant materials.

BIG is an intensive planting system where you can harvest all year round. A variety of vegetables and crops can be grown in a surprisingly small area, allowing for year-round harvests.

The practice also contributes to household income. Excess food crops can be sold to generate income. In addition, young school kids are taught to grow and care for plants and their positive impact on environment.

Considering its components mentioned above, BIG will highly support school-based feeding. The school will have sustainable and productive gardens that will ensure good nutrition and health for students. The fresh produce, such as vegetables and crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals, can be cooked to feed schoolchildren and ensure their good health and nutrition. Parents will be assured that the food that their children will eat are taken from a garden the school maintains and prepared by the school staffers – clean and nutritious, letting kids avoid health issues or problems.

The BIG project has always been big. Four million children aged 5 to 10 years old in the Philippines ( FNRI- DOST, 2008) and many more children in developing countries are undernourished. In the Philippines, IIRR has experimented with an integrated and complementary approach to address child undernourishment. It combines the use of vegetables from school BIG to supplement the school feeding program. Together with parents, teachers, the Department of Education, and the communities, IIRR’s Integrated Food and Nutrition Security uses schools and community BIG as platforms for various interventions. ( Paid article)