Joel Omino School in Kisumu reaps big from Israeli Green House Project on ESD.

 Richard Nyayal, Principal Joel Omino Mixed Secondary school watches keenly as students pack tomatoes from green house that has been donated by a group of Israel University students for the promotion of Education for Sustainable Development{ESD}.The school is the pioneer institution on issues of ESD in the country-Photos By Dickson Odhiambo

By Dickson Odhiambo

June 18, 2018.

Joel Omino School in Kisumu reaps big from Israeli Green House Project on ESD.

As you enter Joel Omino Mixed Secondary school in Kisumu City, you are ushered into a territory with a different environment indeed.

At first, you will not realize that the school which most of its land is rocky situated near Nyalenda slums can offer something in terms of agriculture but wait until you get inside the school.

One of the things which is likely to catch your attention is the great food tower comprising of nicely planted Kales {Sukuma Wiki} on a heap of soil confined in a wire mesh. This project is right in front of the school’s administration block.

It is one of the projects which the school has been implementing as part of the Education for Sustainable Development {ESD} that was launched by then Israeli Ambassador to Kenya Gil Haskel in July 2013 thus making it the pioneer school on Education for Sustainable Development in Kenya as a whole.

The project is providing vegetables for the school and as well is used by students to learn Agriculture as part of education for sustainable development and other schools across different parts of the country have been visiting the place to see the development and replicate it in their schools.

It is this project of ESD on the food tower that impressed a group of University Students from Israel and they decided to donate a new green house for the school in February this year so as to help in enhancing the horticultural farming in the school as part of the ESD project.

         Dickens Apollo, a teacher of Agriculture helps students in harvesting tomatoes from the   Greenhouse donated by the Israel University students.

The green House worth shs 360,000 which was received in February this year by the new School’s Principal Richard Nyayal has started to benefit the institution barely three months after its arrival.

Through the new green house project, the school has now manage to expand its horticultural growing crops where it has successfully managed to plant and are now harvesting its first batch of tomatoes from the green House.

The school’s Principal Richard Nyayal who took over in May last year from the former Principal James Otieno the pioneer Principal on the ESD in Kenya, says the green house that was donated by the students from Israel is a big blessing to the school and the local community.

He says the school has been able to do the harvesting of tomato which they planted in the greenhouse in early March this year, adding that the tomato has taken less than three months to mature.

He says through the greenhouse project the students have also been able to learn subjects like Chemistry, Physics, Agriculture, Mathematics and Business studies.

“Our school has now become a platform for development since our students are able to take this to the local community. The tomatoes produced here are biologically produced and very healthy and free from chemicals,” he says.

He says they have done three harvests which have given the school a good morning, adding that during the first harvest the school managed to get shs 2000 as well as during the second harvest. The third harvest which was done recently was sold about shs 1500 and harvesting s still continuing.

He says they sell a kilo of their tomato at shs 100 and two kilograms goes for shs 200, adding that teachers of the school as well as members of the local community are their major customers.

“This project is aimed at making our school food secure which is in line with our Country’s Vision 2030 on making this country food secure,” he adds.

Nyayal says so far the school is doing extremely well on other ESD projects in areas like establishment of food tower, Arboretum, Bio Sand water Filter and Bakery within the school.

Nyayal has advised both students and parents to fully embrace the ESD Project concept so as to help them greatly at home.

             Students tend to the Food Tower which is part of the ESD Projects in the school.

                                                     

Dickens Apollo, who is a teacher in the school in charge of Biology and Agriculture, says the kind of tomato they planted is known as Corazon F1 which has done extremely well.

He says they did a spacing of 60 by 60 cm and the total population is about 300 plants.

He says ESD projects have been very beneficial to the school fraternity, adding that most students have started to replicate some of the projects at home.

Maureen Oduor, a form three student from the school says the ESD projects in the school have been of great benefit to most of them since they have been able to learn a lot in different subjects.

She says the agriculture students have greatly benefitted especially on the practical aspect of it.

“I want to thank the students from Israel through the MASHAV who donated this greenhouse to our school to help in up scaling the ESD projects,” she says.

Gideon Ochieng also a form three student says the school has been able to purchase books for some students using proceeds from some of the ESD projects.

Education for Sustainable Development {ESD} project was launched in Kenya in the year 2013 with Joel Omino Secondary in Kisumu becoming the first school in the country so as to pioneer the project.

Since then, the school has fully embraced the concept of Education for Sustainable Development to enable the students be well equipped with knowledge in Citizenship, development and democracy.

 The school also strives to drive the concept of ESD to its students so as to embrace environmental conservation, religious and Cultural Values as well as conflict resolution.

The ESD concept is strongly reinforced by five pillars of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse and Repair {the Five Rs}.

A part from the Food Tower at the school, the other important aspect of the ESD noted is the Bio-sand water filter where there is an aspect of producing clean drinking water which is sieved through sand put in super drum and this has worked so well.

There is also a traditional hut which is located at the main entrance where that the artifacts and other items that exhibit culture and traditions of the local community are exhibited.

“The Traditional hut within the school also serves as a conference room which hosts all our meetings including BOGs, PTA and Staff Meetings among others as well as hosting high profile Guests,” says the Principal,

Some of the high profile guests the school has hosted in the Traditional hut include the immediate former Israel Ambassador to Kenya Jacob Keidar and his successor Gil Haskel and former Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma.

Principal of Joel Omino Richard Nyayal{L} poses for a group photo with a group of university students from Israel who donated the greenhouse for the promotion of ESD.On the right is former Principal of the School James Aggrey Otieno who pioneered ESD nationally.

“We are also creating awareness on food Security in the following areas school Nutritional Garden, the food tower, sheep rearing, Poultry keeping and the school bakery that is purely run by our
students,” he further adds.

On the issue of environmental conservation, the Principal says the school has a well maintained green lawn which is the product of Joel Omino Green Global Revolution and Scouting Club, adding that the project provides a variety of plant species which are planted within the school compound on various occasions and seedlings donated to the community periodically.

The school also has its arboretum which is a micro-Park with varied plant species which also hosts the bird feeding program where food left-over from are used to feeding the birds.

“This gives makes us a home of a variety of birds which are ever here for feeding hence our visitors’ ears are met by pleasant tunes from them,” he adds.

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