We had some lovely monsoon rains throughout Hyderabad over the past week. Monsoons play an important role in Indian agriculture. Due to significant variability of rainfall on a year-on-year basis, in terms of timing, quantity and spread, monsoon farm cycles experience much uncertainty in the crop yield. Good rains bring bumper crops. Poor rains may result in crop failure large areas where irrigation is lacking. Large-scale flooding and water-logging also cause damage to crops.
This weekend, children saw and experienced this as the rains had flooded the farms nearby as well as the OES Children’s Farm. There was water-logging, and the seedlings and saplings did not thrive.
However, the soil was softened by the rains and became a playfield for the children. Without inhibition, they waded into the water and turned disappointment into play! They spotted other species who had come out of their homes, like frogs, water insects, snails and more.
While farming activity was not possible, we had come up with an alternative learning experience for the children. We had a renowned ceramic artist & sculptor, Manpreeth Singh Nishter, joining us who ran an experiential workshop on clay with the children, while helping them understand more about soil and clay.
During the workshop, the children worked with clay and rolling pins, and used pin needles, leaves and stones to create designs and textures on the clay. After the workshop ended, the children took the clay works back to their respective homes to air dry them.
Soon, it was time to clean-up. Despite time over runs, children wanted to stay behind and play with the soggy black cotton soil. And their parents were more than happy to spend time, relaxing in the farm, while the children discovered muddy puddles and like-minded friends.
In simple terms, Resilience means a person’s ability to cope with the ups and downs of life.
Building resilience in children helps them to overcome obstacles more easily, become better problem-solvers, and builds their confidence in their ability to deal and fix things. Resilience is formed in part by a child’s upbringing and culture but in part through the development of social skills as well as education experiences.
This week, it was heartening to see children manage tough emotions on seeing the flooded farm, recover from the disappointment, embrace the change, gain knowledge on what the next steps are, and turn their attention to the next task. Kudos to these resilient children and the amazing parents and coaches who helped this week!
We recognize that for any positive impact to be sustainable, it has to be long-term and inter-generational. Organo Et School strives to create an apt learning environment that will support and empower families as well as individuals to embrace sustainable living mindsets and habits.
Organo Et School is a learning initiative set up by Organo in 2017 and has been facilitating fields visits and workshops for Schools and Interest Groups. Organo Et School has had over 25+ schools, 6000+ students and 2500+ adults participate over the last 4 years.
We believe in connecting children & adults with nature. Connecting children with the natural world at a young age is the first step in creating responsible stewards of our collective future.
If you or your children are interested in future Be a Farmer programs, please connect to us at oes@organo.co.in and by phone 9154100775 today! You can also click here to express your interest. We will keep you posted on our future farm cycles.
