Yo’onik Learning Center: Teaching children how to harvest!

Cultivation of the vegetable garden

Understanding the importance of having an alternative family economy, taking into account the context of our unequal socioeconomic development, we have needed to build a supportive community through the cultivation of the garden in Yo'onik. In it we explain to children the importance of cultivating our own land, either in large spaces or in the backyards of our homes.  In our case we use the school. We have a space where we cultivate and teach the children the dates for planting, how to prepare the land, care, maintenance and harvesting.

We show the children how to prepare the land with organic materials through fruit and vegetable compost and other organic and degradable materials that do not contaminate our Mother Earth. We tell them that they should not use pesticides or herbicides, because these products damage the land and our bodies. Because we consume the products of our harvest, if we use toxic products, it also affects our health and puts us at risk.

The children like very much the idea of learning how to plant and take care of the land. The cleaning is done with manual labor, that is, we pull weeds by hand or hoe, and the children have fun doing the work.  We support the children to improve their education in an environment where they are loving to learn. iHere they are able to integrate culture into education. They learn how to take care of the environment with their education and actions. In the future, they can continue in their community, to support and apply it with other children. This helps to continue to expand Yo'onik and its progress together with the community.