Friday 26 April 2013

Greenfingers

For some time now R has been interested in gardening. She loves to plant seeds and gets very excited about fields of crops and gardens that she sees when we are out and about. Lately she has been watching many Youtube videos on growing vegetables, making compost, wormerys etc.... Of course it goes hand in hand with her interest in nature, cooking and nutrition so its only natural that her next step would be to have her own kitchen garden.
When a friend told me about Darryl Pereira I knew we had to go and meet him and see his work.
 Darryl is a local goan who is passionate about organic gardening and devoted to teaching his skills to those who are interested, especially children.
He kindly invited us to his home along with a small group of friends to take part in a workshop on vermicomposting.
Darryl's assistant, Clinton explained to us how to go about making a wormery, asking the children to get their hands dirty and help by adding the cow dung and dried leaves. They handled the earthworms and R remarked on what a lovely feeling it was to feel them squirming in her hand. Everyone also got to hold some of the compost which was ready to be used to get a feel for the correct consistency and texture.



Then the kids all used their hands to mix the fresh compost into some soil ready to use for planting.

Darryl went on to explain to us how to make a wicking bottle to ensure our plants always have enough water.


Next each child had the chance to pot their own plant to take home.


Darryl's garden is full of useful plants and trees. For instance he introduced us to his cinnamon tree, nutmeg tree, curry plant, lemongrass, loveapple tree and many more beautiful plants and trees all thriving thanks to his ingenious pond irrigation system.



                                     

Clinton brought along a snake for us to see and handle and explained how important snakes such as the rat snake are for farmers and gardeners to keep the rat populations under control.

Along with his wonderful organic garden Darryl has initiated many other projects such as rain water harvesting, irrigation and waste management.



A true ambassador for a sustainable living, Darryl is the kind of role model we need for our children. As a  teacher, he leads by example encouraging his students to not only listen, but to engage themselves in the process and make a connection with nature.

I can't thank Darryl and his team enough for todays unforgetable experience.


Before we had even left the property R was asking me when would we be able to return?
On the way home the girls insisted that we stop off at a garden centre. They both just love walking through the maze of plants and trees.


 R bought a miniature lime tree and K chose some lemon grass. Added to the plants they potted at Darryl's they arrived home inspired and ready to create their own terrace garden.

We look forward in the near future to making our own wormery and helping Darryl with his new aquaponics project so watch this space for more greenfingered adventures!

Have to go now...R has just made me a cup of lemongrass tea...mmmm.


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  2. Wow girls what a great day. You've inspired me to sort out my veggie plot for this year and reminded me how much fun you can have at home! I'll look forward to hearing more on this subject and hopefully to see some photo's of the end result.xx

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  4. Lovely! Hope you come for the Learning Societies unconference from JUne 14th - 19th. We are hoping to start a kitchen garden together that the Mahindra United World College students can continue after we leave.

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