The Enterprises
Our Director of Production manages our enterprises. He also takes three hours of class a week in which he
talks the older children through the small projects,
explaining to them what he has been doing and involving them in the
decision-making. In this way,
they can learn how to make a living and support themselves and their
families in the future. Seeing the rewards of their efforts motivates them and helps them develop a strong attitude of self-sufficiency. This is the same attitude that will help them make a positive contribution to their community.
Potato & Maize Fields
In land donated by the community, we work with the parents and the children to cultivate potatoes and maize. This is the parents' way of contributing to the cost of feeding their children. The fields also make excellent classrooms and are the basis for lessons ranging from maths to production, to reading and writing. They act as an anchor to which children can relate their abstract learning.
Guinea Pigs
In Peru, guinea pig is a local delicacy and is eaten on special occasions. The guinea pig farm also makes a great classroom. We have a great cycle in which uneaten food goes to the guinea pigs whose droppings are then used to fertilise the boarding houses' greenhouses. The children are involved in the care of the guinea pigs and help by bringing grass and other plants on their way to school each Monday. They have even taken some of the tips from local engineers home with them.
Greenhouses
We now have two small greenhouses made from wood and plastic sheeting.
Although their economic contribution is small, the education
opportunities that they offer have been made the most of. The children
are involved in the management of the greenhouses through each step of
the cultivation process. It is a brilliant opportunity to talk about
nutrition and when the time comes to eat what they have grown, a crucial
attitude of self-sufficiency is instilled.
Handicrafts
These workshops are an essential part of what we do in the boarding houses. The children make bracelets, jumpers, socks, hats, gloves and lots of other beautiful things. Some of these go on the hand or foot of a younger brother or proud father, the others are sold here in the UK. The profits go back to the boarding houses and the children decide in what they'd like to invest their profit.
"In July 2010, I went back with profit from the sale of bracelets. We asked the children what they'd like to do with the material and there was only one answer, that they'd like to buy more material to make more bracelets!"
