Teaching Them Young: This Not-For-Profit Organization In Delhi Offers 'Farm-Based' Learning For Children

A Delhi-based Not-for-profit, on purpose organization, SowGood is working with more than 3,000 children in the government and private schools of the Delhi-NCR region. The organization aims to integrate farming and composting with the existing learning method at the school level to provide a productive and work-based pedagogical approach to children.

The organization offers a three-year engagement, a curriculum-based programme for schools in the first its kind initiative. The team at Sowgood works with the teachers to integrate various concepts of mathematics, science and social sciences, amongst other subjects, into curriculum planning and designing farming sessions.

Hands-On Experience For Children

While speaking about SowGood, Pragati Chaswal, the organization's founder, shared, "The activity and curriculum framework is focused on integrating framing practices & techniques with grade curriculum to make learning fun for children inculcate valuable life skills through teaching practices during farming sessions. Over a year, various activities are introduced to children to give hands-on learning to provide deeper connection and respect towards farming".

Children work closely with their classmates to grow all vegetables from seed. Together they take up the responsibility of taking care of the crop. This process teaches them to be patient, as the crop takes 2-3 months to grow. While they wait for the crop to grow during these months, they nurture it every day. This act teaches you persistence and appreciation– not just of food but the environment, your friends and nature. Children start to realize the negative impact of litter or waste on soil and the harmful effects on non-biodegradable materials and begin to become interested in waste disposal and segregation.

Teaching During The Lockdown

While talking about how they functioned during the lockdown, Pragati shared, "SowGood chose to continue with online learning programs so that their learning does not get impacted by Covid-19. The SowGood Team decided to 'take the farm' to children if they could not visit the farm. The team meticulously worked on a solution to accommodate children from private schools and government schools. Overall, the team created 24 almost zero-budget, DIY, online and interactive modules in Hindi and English that reached over 9000 children from two private schools and three government schools".

The SowGood team turned its farm-based school curriculum into interactive and hands-on online sessions and used technology to reach all its students in bespoke ways. Weekly online sessions were arranged for students and teachers with individual query responses through Whatsapp.

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