Grow Your Own Food
Earlier this year, the ACTS Battambang team supported a pilot programme spearheaded by Fr Manoj in the Battambang parish to encourage families to grow their own food as an alternative and sustainable food source compared to just receiving food aid. The programme involved providing seeds, tools and farming soil to families, as well as small livestock such as roosters and hens for rearing. Additionally, the religious in Battambang also provided small plots of land in their parish, schools or homes to families that did not have suitable land for planting at home.
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After a few months and several harvests, we are pleased to announce and share that this pilot programme has been going well. The harvests provided bountiful food, and much joy to the people. The planting and growing brought the community together. Even children and youth got involved and started helping out.
The Programme
With such blessings in the programme, Fr Manoj is extending the pilot to other parishes in the prefecture and more families are starting to benefit from it.
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Therefore, some of the funds we have raised (US$11,900) will be used to support this “Grow Your Own Food” programme, providing 100 families with a package of seeds, soil and livestock. These funds will also go towards the hiring of 5 young graduates from the local agricultural vocational school to help out in the project for 6 months (thereby providing some employment), where they will be assisting and teaching families on the planting processes.
What you can do
As a show of solidarity to the Battambang community that are growing their own food, ACTS BATTAMBANG 2021 is excited to invite you, dear donors in Singapore to be part of the “GROW YOUR OWN FOOD” family.
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To participate, we invite you to join us to grow a small edible plant in your own homes and share with us through photos and posts, your experience throughout the whole process. To kickstart the activity, we will be providing you a small packet of seeds as a starter pack, but you would need to get other materials on your own in order to grow the plant.
Workshops
Additionally, for those who are totally new and need help, or have a little experience but are interested in improving skills, we will be organising a workshop in October on how to grow edible gardens at home.
The workshop will be conducted by Alexius Yeo, Singapore’s own urban farmer. Alexius teaches Agriculture-based experiential learning programmes with his company, Carbon InQ Pte Ltd and is also the founder of Project 33, a community farming movement. He is generously sharing his time and skills to provide this workshop for our participants in Solidarity with our mission.
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We hope that through participation in the workshop or this activity, you will also share the gift of nature, and become a steward in the care for our common home. Finally, if you believe you have benefitted from the whole process, we hope that you can also share what you have learnt with your family and friends so that the message of stewardship and sustainability can grow.
Details of Workshop
Instructor:
Date:
Duration:
Location:
Cost:
Alexius Yeo (Bio)
Sat. 30 Oct (10-11:30am)
1.5 hours
Zoom Online
$5 per head (cost of materials only comprising seeds and growing starter kit. This will be delivered to your home a few days before the session)
* The cost of the workshop is a nominal sum for participants interested in learning more about edible gardens. The costs goes to the growing starter kit.
Contact us
"All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.”
Pope Francis
Laudato Si 14