Students tend to vegetables, fruits and greens to ensure access to varied and nutritious diet

 

(MissionNewswire) At the educational campus of Talita Kumi, located in San Pedro Carchá, Alta Verapaz in Guatemala, 350 boarding students are working to cultivate vegetables, fruits and greens for their own consumption. The goal of the gardens is to ensure the students have a varied and nutritious diet.

A Salesian noted, “The gardens do more than just nourish the students. It also strengthens their self-sufficiency and nurtures deep respect for nature. Through agricultural work, the young women acquire practical knowledge that they can replicate in their communities, promoting sustainable habits and healthier lifestyles.”

As part of this education, students engage in agroecological practices for the management of different crops and vegetables. In the particular case of tomatoes, they apply natural products for both nutrition and pest and disease control. In doing so, they aim to harvest more nutritious fruits, with higher levels of vitamins and antioxidants, benefiting consumer health and soil quality by avoiding synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. These practices also encourage soil biological activity and help reduce environmental pollution.

The Salesian added, “The gardens of Talita Kumi have become spaces of integral learning, where sowing is done with dedication and harvesting with joy. Each crop represents an opportunity to value the earth as a source of life and to respond to the call to care for our Common Home. With these actions, Talita Kumi reaffirms its commitment to forming women leaders who contribute to building a more just, caring and sustainable future.”

Salesian missionaries working and living in the country have been providing for the basic needs of Guatemala’s youth while helping to break the cycle of poverty in their lives. They work extensively with youth and their families at youth centers, orphanages, parishes, and primary and secondary schools. They also operate technical schools, vocational training workshops and two universities in the country.

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