ABOUT THE MISSION
Published: 2018-05-12
Translation
This is a translation of a Bulgarian-language post. It conveys the content faithfully but is not the author's original English writing.
I would like to introduce myself first. My name is Svilena Racheva, I am a mother of 5 children, and since 2008 I have been living in Bulgaria again, having spent all the time since my return from the USA until now entirely outside the city, in exceptional closeness to Nature and the Earth.
During this time (besides raising children) I have worked with ecological and sustainable agriculture; I have been a certified organic producer of vegetables and fruit, for which I also hold the corresponding accreditation and diploma. From 2009 to 2014 I managed a permaculture* garden, and from 2012 the garden expanded for market to an area of 7 decares — and, also from 2012, an organic raspberry plantation of 28 decares.
I was one of the first to form (informally) a CSA (community-supported agriculture), delivering boxes of vegetables directly from the farm to their end consumer — you. Together with two or three other producers, we were the first such at the Farmers' Markets, which later gained exceptional popularity. From 2012 onwards I have also been an organiser and facilitator of children's camps and day-schools in the garden and in nature, through which I have managed to pass on to hundreds of children my views on Nature and its protection, and to create in them a sense of belonging and love for it. In 2014 I took part in the creation and realisation of one of the projects that received the "green light" in the "Do It Yourself" competition of "For the Earth" — a container garden for the children of the Waldorf kindergarten "Slanchova Premyana" in Dragalevtsi, which to this day still functions as such for the pupils of the "Nikolay Raynov" Waldorf School in Sofia.
It was the very founder of Waldorf pedagogy, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), who placed gardening and farming as an inseparable part of children's school activities throughout the year. He discovered the necessity of these "lessons", because even then he observed a trend that has accelerated immensely over the past century and is certainly at its peak now — namely, the migration of the greater part of the population from pastoral to urbanised communities, the cities.
Having grown up in big cities, children have difficulty even recognising the various plants and animals that people depend on for food, and even less do they understand how crops grow, or appreciate the close connection between geography, climate, seasons, plants and soil. Gardening provides a quick path to restoring this connection.
Having the chance to play and learn in the garden itself, to be close to Nature and the Earth in their "outdoor classroom", children will have an experimental field in which, on their own, through applied models, they can draw out and prove the lessons of the human-Nature interaction, integrating the learning process through a fun and creative model suited to their needs at the given age. Besides this, gardening also provides the chance for meaningful work that develops children's motor skills, the health benefits of working outdoors, and of course exceptionally fresh, nutritious and clean food.
Being above all a mother, it is of exceptional importance to me that my family has access to Clean food and is in contact with Nature and the Earth. This is what connects us with most of you, too.
But I, having had the chance to gather direct experience from our life in Nature, have turned this priority of mine into my mission as well. Studying and applying holistic practices connected with the protection of Clean food, Natural resources and Mother Earth, I believe that, in order for them to exist for the generations after us too, children themselves must study these practices in the garden — not only to understand where the food on their table comes from, but, by taking part in the whole process, from sowing the seed to harvesting, to enjoy the many benefits that gardening offers:
It develops in them a sense of significance and responsibility — they plan the garden, sow the seeds, observe the process of growth and care for the plants. It teaches understanding — cause and effect is shown to them in practice (e.g. plants die without water). It looks after their self-esteem — by achieving the goals they set themselves in the garden. And of course it gives them the joy of eating vegetables they have grown themselves. In the garden, children can touch and feel the soil, the seeds, the flowers, enjoy the various aromas, colours and textures. When all the senses are involved, this helps children understand the concept of gardening, together with all the mathematical and scientific concepts that go hand in hand with it.
Online there are hundreds of posts written on the topic of the benefits of gardening for children, so I will stop here. Now it remains for you to decide whether it is suitable for your child and whether you would like them to take part in the creation of a permaculture* garden in the form of weekend workshops and camps, from now until the end of October.
If so, like our Facebook page GROWN WITH LOVE and follow our events calendar. You can also call us for more information at tel. 0988705101, or send us a message.