Family Farming: African Bag Gardens

In this resource you will find: An introduction to life in Africa, with a special focus on food. A story of Douglas, who grows food in Bag Gardens. A comprehension activity based on this story. Instructions on how to make a Bag Garden. You will also find some differentiated worksheets on Instructional Writing.

Where do you get your food? Where do you think our food comes from? Does anyone in your family grow their own vegetables?

Did you know…? A lot of the food we eat doesn’t actually come from the UK. In fact, most of the food we eat is imported and comes from all over the world!

Only 1% of the UK’s population are farmers. A lot of the food we eat comes from Africa, making farming a very important job. Around 65% of the population farm their own food! Traditionally, who are our farmers? In Africa, a lot of farmers are women and families. Are you surprised by this? Why? Did you know…?

“Family farming plays a significant role in eradicating hunger and poverty… improving livelihoods.” This is Douglas. He lives in the country of Uganda. His family own a small farm, where they grow their own food to eat and sell. However, Douglas’ life wasn’t always like this. There once was a time where he lived in poverty. Do you know what poverty is?

Read through Douglas’ story, and then answer the following questions. This is Douglas. He is five years old and lives with his mother in Uganda. His mum is a widow and looks after six children – some are his brothers and sisters, some are orphans. Most of what Douglas and his family eat has to be grown on their small plot of land, which isn’t easy. Thankfully, Send a Cow has helped the family by giving them a cow and showing them how to make special gardens, like Bag Gardens.

Unlike other types of gardens, Bag Gardens can survive through all weathers, and you can grow more than one vegetable in them at once. Bag Gardens keep the moisture in when it’s hot, and let water out when it’s raining. They’re also really easy to make and don’t cost a lot, because the materials used to make them are locally sourced or recycled!

Their cow gives Douglas and his family milk to drink. They sell the rest of the milk to help pay for school, books and pens, so that they can go to school to learn. However, the cow is not just useful for milk – she also gives them plenty of manure, which is great for the gardens!

Douglas helps his mum by looking after one of the Bag Gardens. They have lots of different plants growing – Douglas’ garden has aubergines planted in it. His job is to water it with rainwater, apply an organic pesticide they made, and pick the aubergines when they are ripe. Douglas’ mum is very happy with how the Bag Gardens are doing. “The manure has helped me to fertilise my soil,” she says, “and the vegetables I used to grow were tiny, but now they’re large and healthy!”

Although Douglas lives with so many other children, the vegetables provided from the Bag Garden and cow’s milk allows them to be fit and healthy. The money made from selling milk and vegetables has really helped to change things and has improved all of their lives for the better!

Questions 1.What are the benefits of growing food in a Bag Garden? 2.What two things does a Bag Garden do, that allows it to survive through all types of weather? 3.Look at the picture of Douglas with his bag garden. What sort of materials have been used to make it? 4.How would Douglas and his family’s life be different without the Bag Garden and cow? 5.Why is school important for Douglas and his siblings? 6.How do you think Douglas feels about being responsible for looking after one of the Bag Gardens? Think of at least 2 adjectives. Why have you chosen these words? 7.What questions would you like to ask about Douglas?

African Bag Gardens This is a bag garden, just like the one Douglas and his family use. If you’ve only got a small space, it’s a great way for you to grow your own vegetables! With the help of your teachers, this is what you are going to do! Be careful, because it can get a bit messy!

Making your own African Bag Garden Watch the following video, which shows Hope making a Bag Garden.video Then follow the step-by-step instructions on the following slides to help you as you make your own.

What you will need… 1x hessian sack 1x empty coke bottle, with both ends cut off A pile of stones (enough to fill 2 ½ coke bottles) 2 bags of soil Compost 2 spades Trowel Gardening gloves Sticks to hold up your garden Seeds or plants for your garden

Instructions! 1.Firstly, mix your soil and compost together. 2.Take your sack and place it where you want your garden to be. 3.Roll down the sides of the sack.

4)Fill the bottom of your bag with soil. 5)Place your bottle in centre of the sack. Fill it up with stones.

6)Place soil around the bottle and stones. 7)Lift the bottle up until it is nearly out of the soil. 8)Repeat steps 5, 6 and 7 until the soil has reached the top of the sack.

9)Remove the bottle. 10)Place your chosen seeds or plants into the Bag Garden.

11)You can plant things in the side of the bags as well! 12)If you’re worried about the bag collapsing, you can always hammer in sticks to help hold it up! 13) Water your bag garden thoroughly.

A finished Bag Garden!

Time to get crafty… You can decorate it and paint it however you like! We would also love to see photos of your designs! So don’t forget to send them into us! Another great thing you can do is decorate your Bag Garden, and make it bright and colourful!

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