What a morning it was! We were invited by Sreenidhi International School as their sustainability education partners to collaborate and inspire their students on the occasion of World Pulses Day.
The day started with 150+ students and 20+ teachers from grades 6-11 being assembled in the Sports complex of their school. Mr. Malcolm Nicolson, Head of School, introduced Organo Et School and the partnership with Sreenidhi International School. He also introduced Ms. Meena Murugappan, Director of Organo Eco Habitats Pvt and Director of Organo Et School (OES), and the work that OES has be doing in furthering the field of Education on Sustainability.
The first session was students from the age-group 11-16 years. They were introduced to what World Pulses Day was, why do we need to observe it, how does it matter for our health, our farmers, and our planet. Ms. Murugappan took them through her own journey from teen to adult and how UN events have influenced both her choices and her career. She explained the importance of observing these days as children because someone in the group of children is bound to be part of the solution as an adult and possibly, even solve this issue of feeding 9 billion people by 2050.
After which, she covered the topics such as Local Pulses, Facts about Pulses, how much pulse does an Indian family consume, how much do they spend per month, how much does a farmer make, and how does pulse consumption help us, the farmers, and the planet.
She also recommended 5 things that young people can adopt immediately to help forward this pulse cause:
1) Find your pulse farmer
a. Identify where the local pulses farmers are (within a 100 km radius)
b. Reach out to them and offer to buy their produce directly
c. Commit to buy his/her produce year on year
d. Encourage them to rise pulse crops using natural farming methods
2) Know where your food ingredients come from
a. Take keen interest in where your food comes from
b. Trace the origins of each ingredient
c. Understand how it is grown
d. Learn what does this food do for your health, and environment
3) Eat seasonal pulses and produce
a. Understand pulse crop cycles and weather patterns
b. Know when which pulse is in season in your region
c. Learn how seasonal food impacts your health
4) Be a pulse farmer
a. Support a pulse farmer by volunteering at their farm for an entire crop cycle
b. Learn traditional methods of farming pulses
c. Gain a deeper understanding of the farmers journey from seed to produce
5) Incorporate pulses into your diet
a. Eat at least one pulse-based dish a day to increase dietary fibre
b. Consume low-fat high-protein low-carbon-footprint food
c. Get your daily requirement of multi-nutrients
The session concluded with an interesting activity that was introduced to the children as a post-event activity. 6-8 graders were requested to develop a Manga comic. 9th and 11th graders were introduced to an activity where they role-play as agri-preneurers and develop a business plan/pitch based on a pulse-based cause/product/service. Read more about these activities in our next article.
The session concluded with the student council rallying their teams to work on these assignments and submit to earn house points. Overall, we found the student body engaged and actively listening and participating in the workshop.
We hope this session was useful and information for the students. Their enthusiasm was infectious and inspiring. We are looking forward to seeing their work as well as how they take forward the Pulse cause.
At Organo Et School (OES), we recognize that for any positive impact to be sustainable, it has to be long-term and inter-generational. We strive 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 Eco-Habitats Pvt Ltd 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.
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