Nutrition Gardens and literacy in schools
Ours is an upper primary school with children from Bhejaguda and 5 to 6 surrounding villages come to this school. In 2014, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation began a ‘Farming System for Nutrition’ intervention under the LANSA project. Nutrition awareness among the young is an important component of the programme, and so a series of programmes were organised in our school. Following a discussion with staff and the school management committee, we developed a nutrition garden in our school premises. It was to serve primarily as an educational tool for the children. The main objectives of this initiative was to create awareness on the importance of micronutrient-rich green leafy vegetables like drumstick leaves, Indian spinach, amaranthus, coriander and spinach.