Great attendance at the "Grow the change" conference

On Sunday 13 November in Milan the “Grow the change” conference took place, an important occasion to take stock of the results achieved so far with the “Fruits of the Garden” Project and of the future prospects of this project.

Among the many results achieved, in Nepal, in the areas of Dhulikel and Banepa, more than 390 people were trained in sustainable farming practices based on permaculture principles; more than 390 people were trained in bureaucratic procedures, codes of conduct and behavioural rules for organic certification and the maintenance of shared standards; 20 technicians of the district office responsible for Nepalese agricultural policies (DADO) were trained and made aware of organic farming and permaculture techniques and of the consequences of a massive use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers.

In addition, more than 240 kits for farming on terraced land and urban marginal land and 150 kits for pot farming and roof gardening were distributed, and a process for the setting up of 18 agricultural cooperatives made up of “small” urban farmers was started.

Two nurseries were created, managed by the trained agricultural cooperatives, which produce organic local seeds and plants ready for planting in pots or in the ground.

In Italy 1260 students from 10 primary or middle schools in the Brescia area were involved in educational workshops, 63 “NOW – NO MORE ORGANIC WASTE” kits were distributed and 10 school vegetable gardens were created (one for each school involved). School workshops on permaculture were held in 5 Milan schools and material was produced by the students of these schools, to share the experiences with their Nepalese fellow students.

In Milan was created an urban vegetable garden, open to the public, and 3 permaculture workshops were held.

In total, between direct and indirect beneficiaries, in Nepal and in Italy, the people involved were 8665.

Now the aim is to continue helping Nepalese families and allow them to produce for themselves and also to create an income that can support them coltivailcambiamento.org

We thank the Conference Speakers: Andrea Casini, Greta Cocchi (Maremosso-Cauto), Gabriele Mugnai, Saviana Parodi Delfino, Gaetano Ruvolo, Gaurav Thapa, Maurizio Valota (Eliante).

Thanks to Fondazione Cariplo, Comune di Milano, Regione Lombardia and Chiesa Evangelica Valdese

Thanks to those who gave space to this project and to those who helped us promote the event: Ansa Lombardia, Comune di Milano, Corriere Sociale, Calendario dell’orto, Città Metropolitana Milano, Dailygreen, Dribselling, Ecolab, Eticamente, Festival del verde e del paesaggio, Food Forest Italia, La Casa delle Erbe, La Gabbianella, La Repubblica-Lombardia, Orto Comune, Orto da coltivare, Orti Milano Parco Nord, Orti Urbani, Ortomania, Permacultura Italia, Permacultura Lombardia, Redattore Sociale, Regione Lombardia, Natura&Cultura-Viaggi del Gufo, Vivere a contatto con la Natura.