English teacher set for Nepal valley trip to help grow food
AN English teacher is set to travel to a valley in Nepal to help communities grow their own food.
Cal Hudson, originally from Clayton-le-Moors, has been teaching English in South Korea for two years and is one of the co-founders of sustainable food organisation call The Life Aquaponic.
They will be flying out to the Kopila Valley in Surkhet, Nepal, to help build a large scale aquaponics system to grow food for members of the community.
Aquaponics is a combination of fish growing and hydroponics (growing food without soil) which recreates the natural relationship between plants and wildlife.
The former St Mary’s and Mount Pleasant school pupil, who previously had a warehouse job in Altham, said it has been a ‘transformative experience’ teaching around 500 children each month in South Korea, and is ‘excited’ about the project in South Asia.
Cal, 24, said they have spent several months researching and organising and said the recent earthquakes in Nepal have made them realise ‘how important food security education is, especially in developing countries’.
He said: “We are working with a community in Nepal who rely on what they can grow, how well local farmers are doing, and a fragile delivery system. Something as simple as a bad winter can ruin harvests and endanger lives.
“By teaching the residents about sustainable food systems, we can help the families provide their own food for generations to come, and really change the future of the entire community for the better.
“We’re not giving a man a fish, or teaching him how to fish. We’re teaching him how to farm fish to grow vegetables. Aquaponics and vertical farming are the future of food production, and developing communities are the perfect place to start.”
They will be working with the BlinkNow Foundation which runs schools and children’s homes in the area.
After two years away, Cal said he is planning to return to the UK later this year, before looking to do more teaching abroad.