Young Tico invites more schools to take on the challenge: for children to learn to eat varied and little-known vegetables
Boy created an educational program and is now seeking help to develop a technological platform that makes information more accessible
Determined that more Costa Rican children know the great diversity of vegetables and fruits that exist on the planet and can introduce them without fear into their diet, the young Salomón Sayago Mejía decided to give greater impetus to a project that he undertook two years ago at the institution where studied. His idea is to take it to other educational centers.
The initiative of this boy, called “Meeting Point”, took its first steps in the Lincoln school with the idea that high school students would motivate, through weekly classes, the youngest of the institution to eat a variety, rescue recipes from the grandparents and planting plants to promote seed variety.
Satisfied with the results obtained, Sayago has been able to successfully replicate the model in other institutions such as the CATIE Inter-American School and Blue Valley.
“It went very well for us. We taught two first grade classes (two people per class). It was an incredible experience because the school children loved to learn. Even at the conclusion of an activity that involved eating at home, the children’s parents thanked us for teaching their children to eat better and showing the adults new fruits and vegetables that they did not know, ”commented Irina Kaminsky, one of the students who piloted Sayago’s project at Blue Valey.
At CATIE, the results were similar. “Our experience working with Salomón, and the modules on agrobiodiversity and healthy nutrition in children and young people, was very enriching, both for the educational institution and for the students and families of the participating students. It was good to see empowered students giving talks and providing valuable information to lower-level classmates, ”said Maricela Mora Salazar, Preschool coordinator.
In search of a platform
During the three years of the pilot plan in these three institutions, 200 children, 30 direct youth, more than 500 indirect youth, their families and teachers have benefited, said Sayago.
The objective of this young man now is to find people interested in helping him develop a technological platform that allows him to take this course to more educational centers inside and outside the country. Thus, those who wish to use the module could develop it and access the information more easily.
The boy also wants to find partners (companies or interested persons) who bring new ideas to his project. Among those who could contribute is Lincoln School, from which Sayago graduated.
“As we do with other students, we will provide logistical and structural support for the final product that will be implemented in other schools. Support is being evaluated with the Department of Technology to support him in the development of an application ”, explained to La Nación Robert Rinaldo, general director of this educational center.
Why did this project arise?
Sayago, who is in Australia at Queensland University studying Agribusiness and Sustainable Agriculture, is convinced that agrodiversity is an effective way to solve the agrifood crisis in which the world finds itself.
Human beings need nourishment to perform their human functions. Agribiodiversity is the basis of our diet and has been diminished at an alarming rate in the last 100 years, to the point that today half of our calories depend on only four types of food: potatoes, wheat, corn and rice. 70% of our diet comes from only 12 plant species ”, he reflected.
To reverse the problem, Sayago thinks that children are the main agents of change and therefore insists on working with this population.
What is the program that this young man designed about? Basically, during the course four core topics are addressed: agriculture, nutrition, seeds and orchards.
Thus, during the months in which this plan is carried out, the schoolchildren learn about different products that are grown in the field, the nutritional richness they have, the many recipes that can be prepared with them and, then, they are invited to experiment with planting fruits and vegetables.
In one of the classes, the little students are encouraged to create their own superheroes, based on their favorite vegetables.
The course usually culminates with a fair.
Together with the educational module, Salomón promotes agrodiversity through its website: www.fundacionsalomon.org, its Facebook wall and the Fundación Salomón application that is available for iOS and Android.
Photo courtesy Salomón Sayago.
