When effort pays off

Not too long ago, as one of the main activities in the Active Raches programme, we started

taking care of our own vegetable garden. At first I was hesitant, thinking it would be really a

challenge to actually grow our own food, but I have to say I am surprised with the process.

Every Tuesday and Friday our team would go to the back of NISI to take care of that small

garden step by step. At first, we would make small “volcanos” to allow the water to hydrate the little plants properly, then we would be very cautious not to let any weeds grow around them so the baby plants can have all the good nutrients from the soil.

With time, this activity started to become a larger project, being one of our most important task in the routine. We started researching for ways to improve it: we made workshops, we asked gardeners and we learned that we were on the right track for having a successful vegetable provider. Within a few weeks we got our first tomatoes and peppers, we were so excited that we hoped to harvest more soon.

We continued removing the grass, moving the soil, watering every day, and harvesting in order to get more fruits. Definitely hard work, especially in the hot summer months. Nontheless thanks to all of this effort, this activity continued being as successful as it is -regardless of the tricks of weather and bugs-. As for today, we are proud to say that the little square of soil became a huge vegetable garden that -literally- would not stop growing. Our most difficult task somedays is to eat all of the produce we get!

All in all, this is an experience that really shows us the importance of effort, caring and

constancy, and makes me think about how we can apply this to ourselves. Now, I picture a half of myself as a little baby plant, and the other half taking good care of it, excited to see how big and fruitful I grow.

Andrea