Seedlings

The nursery school children continued their sowing activity, this time focusing on turnips.The seeds used came from our partner Agrosemens, a loyal supporter of the educational programme.After observing the small black turnip seeds, the children carefully sowed them in the … Read More

This week, children from Bercy Primary School took part in a sowing workshop in the educational garden at La Traversine Bercy.Under the guidance of the Designing Hope team, the children began by preparing the substrate: a mixture of sifted soil … Read More

The five women in charge of vegetable production are currently preparing the nursery for the coming spring in southern Africa. They are working the soil, selecting the seeds and starting the first sowings. At the same time, they are continuing … Read More

As part of its commitment to agro-ecology, The Ivory Foundation has installed a greenhouse at the Village Pilote association in Senegal. The aim of the project is to produce local seeds and a large quantity of vegetables to make the … Read More

At the Saint-Paul School for the Deaf in Leribe, Lesotho, a sowing activity was organised with the youngest pupils. Under the coordination of Tsephane, head of the educational farm, six agricultural students first prepared the plots. The children then took … Read More

In addition to the five women in charge of the vegetable garden at the Halfway house in Roosboom, two men help out four days a week with the more physical tasks. This month, they set about creating a second nursery, … Read More

The children at Bercy school are proud to have grown their own tomato plants ! Back in February, they sowed seeds in cups set up in the school playground. At the end of March, the young shoots were transplanted to the … Read More

At Levi’s Nek Farm, the horse plays an essential role in agricultural work, particularly for plot maintenance and sowing. The farm’s young people prepare a mixture of seed, compost and manure, which they then place in furrows created using an … Read More

It’s time to transfer the young plants produced in the greenhouse to the Traversine Villiot garden. Zucchinis, broccoli, cauliflower and leeks take their place on the first petals of the garden’s mandala. The soil has been cleared of weeds, loosened … Read More

The strawberry plants harvested in September had time to develop over the winter, and were replanted by the kindergarteners in the Bercy school garden, alongside kiwis, vines and other climbers. Elementary school children also helped enrich the garden by planting … Read More

The chard plants produced in the garden nursery have been transplanted. onto the newly-created beds in the greenhouse garden at Halfway House in Roosboom. Thanks to the automatic watering system installed in the greenhouse, these seedlings should grow quickly and … Read More

To ensure efficient plant production in their greenhouse, The Ivory Foundation provided Dawady Farm with a system of bottomless trays to be positioned on the ground, in trenches previously dug to retain soil moisture. This system increases nursery yields, compared … Read More

In 2024, The Ivory Foundation added Village Pilote to its seed production program in Senegal by installing a 200 m² greenhouse dedicated to the production of reproducible peasant seeds. The aim is to support young people in vulnerable situations by … Read More

Every day, the four women in charge of the Garden of Skills vegetable garden maintain the crops grown on this one-hectare plot of land. Transplanting, weeding, watering, hoeing, sowing… the tasks are many and varied, so as to make the … Read More

Once the beds had been prepared, and the soil refined and weeded, the women of Roosboom set about preparing a typical bed, sown with carrots in rows close together, according to permaculture principles.In fact, we try to maximize production on … Read More

In order to have a vegetable garden full of vegetables throughout the seasons, it’s crucial to have a well-organized nursery that regularly produces the plants needed to line the garden beds, in addition to the species planted directly in the … Read More

To complete the nursery, additional seedlings have been placed in traditional seed trays.Regular watering is important to prevent them drying out too quickly.The children at Halfway House take on this task every day! A project undertaken by Designing Hope with … Read More

Once the nursery frame and internal grid had been installed, all that remained to be done was to fit a protective frame with a number of purposes:– Reduce the intensity of the sun’s rays, which are particularly hot in southern … Read More

At Roosboom, young plants have a number of enemies: the sun, lack of water and attacks by locusts and grasshoppers, which love young shoots… So we designed a system of bottomless trellises that has the advantage of drying out less … Read More

Summer, which corresponds to the rainy season in southern Africa, is the ideal time to set up a fertiliser tree nursery. These trees have been chosen for their ability to fertilise the soil by producing nitrogen nodules at their roots, … Read More

The production from the nursery has been a real success on the Levi’s Nek farm! It has enabled the farm’s young residents to cultivate tomato and butternut beds in open fields. These crops complement the bell pepper seedlings already transplanted … Read More

The Ivory Foundation has provided the Levi’s Nek farm with bottomless trays to optimize seedling production in the greenhouse. The advantage of this method is to maintain a high level of substrate humidity by positioning the trays in 10cm-deep trenches … Read More

Once again, the horse at Levi’s Nek farm will be taking part in the farming activity… He will be in charge of pulling the seed drill, in which the youngsters have mixed the seeds with a blend of compost, manure … Read More

The “wintering” period is not the most favorable for seed production, with its heavy rains favoring the development of diseases such as mildew.Abdhouramane, the man in charge of the Bala garden, has nevertheless maintained a varied production during this period, … Read More

At the Traversine Bercy garden, we focus on observing the life cycle of the vegetable from seed to seed.Our pretty cauliflower was magnificent during summer ! After forming a beautiful white head over 20cm in diameter, it began to change … Read More

On the roof terrace of the Bercy school, space is limited… As a result, the planters are never empty!After removing the tomato plants, they were replaced by celery plants grown in the greenhouse.They will finish growing before winter arrives…

The women in charge of the garden and the gardener at Halfway House are preparing for the arrival of spring!The cold, dry southern winter will give way to the temperate, rainy summer season, ideal for planting new crops.The beds are … Read More

The young residents of Levi’s Nek farm are about to launch their first large-scale potato production… The seedlings were purchased thanks to the sale of cabbages harvested in quantity at the end of the austral winter. A complete plot has … Read More

It’s Friday, the last day of the week before the weekend! So it’s time for some special care for the garden, which will spend the weekend on its own. The children from the Bercy school helped us to water and … Read More

This Wednesday, exceptionally, we only had one pupil from Bercy elementary school, as the children were on a field trip. She was very committed and helped us water, weed and take care of the garden. We’re particularly pleased with the … Read More

In anticipation of the Traversine’s return to the school’s roof terrace, seedlings were sown in class with the children from the Bercy nursery school.This gave them a heated space in which to grow. To ensure that they continue to grow, … Read More

Fesile presents the seedlings sown in the greenhouse as the southern winter approaches.The seeds were selected from the organic seed catalogue of agrosemens, a partner of Designing Hope.

This Wednesday afternoon, the children from the Paris Anim centre (CLAJE) came to the Traversine de Villiot garden for a sowing activity. We provided them with mini greenhouses, composed of a equipped with a water reserve, a seedling tray and … Read More

The children at Bercy primary schools planted tomatoes, okra, cowpeas and kale. They have completed four mini greenhouses, each with two different varieties to diversify the planting. Their mission is not just a one-off one, but a recurring one, as … Read More

This December, despite the cold, the kindergarten children planted broad bean and pea seeds, which are particularly suited to the winter season.These seeds are ideal for very young children, as they are easy to handle, given their size.After planting the … Read More

Broad beans are one of the few crops that have to be sown in late autumn.Their large seeds are easy for the children to plant, and in a few days they will be able to see the shoots emerge…Another advantage … Read More

Broad beans are one of the few crops that have to be sown in late autumn. Their large seeds are easy for the children to plant, and in a few days they will be able to see the shoots emerge…Another … Read More

To carry out a test protocol on seeds to ensure that they have retained their germinative germinative properties, you can work on twenty seeds, sown in pots. The seed packets and plates are identified. All the seeds with a good germination rate can then be sown immediately on a … Read More

Gardeners at the Yagma school have set up a nursery using seeds supplied by Agrosemens. The seeds are intended for seed production, according to a protocol developed during regional training organised by The Ivory Foundation with its seed partner Agrosemens in Senegal. The seedlings were … Read More

The strawberries love the Garden of Skills just as much as the women in the garden love the strawberries…Just the thing… The plants have produced a huge number of runners, which the women have taken care to transplant onto new … Read More

The women in charge of the Garden of Skills at Malanti in Eswatini are preparing the selection of seeds that they will put into pots in the greenhouse. It’s a painstaking task, so as not to waste this precious resource … Read More

In the greenhouse of Malanti, women have prepared tomato plants which they are now about to plant on prepared beds. 

Even in November, it is still time to sow some seeds… and it is what the children of the nursery school of Bercy did!  Hoping that the first sprouts will survive the cold winter, the children sowed yellow turnips, lettuce, … Read More

The children of the primary schools of Bercy helped us to transplant in the playground’s garden the spinach which proliferated in the Garden of the Traversine-Villiot.  After digging holes in the enriched soil trays, the children planted the spinach plants … Read More

In October, it is still time to sow parsley, it is what we made with the children of the primary schools of Bercy.  In the school’s containers, which had been prepared with fertile soil, the children delicately sowed parsley seeds. The … Read More

In the garden of the Traversine Villiot, our cauliflower, after having formed a compact vegetable, continued its growth. To the astonishment of the children, it has grown new stems. This is what we call the process of going to seed … Read More

The seedlings prepared by Abdourhamane, the head gardener of the Bala garden, are a success! The shoots of the different varieties of tomatoes and aubergines have emerged from the plates with a very satisfactory germination rate. As part of the … Read More

The Ivory Foundation has developed a reproductive seed production project in Senegal with the organic seed company Agrosemens. The Bala medical centre in eastern Senegal, near Tambacounda, is one of the pilot sites associated with this initiative. Abdourhamane, head of … Read More

Today, the women of the Garden of Skills planted peppers, beets, lettuce and spinach on the beds of the “Teenji” (Teen G for youth garden), the garden in front of the workshop, half of which is used for educational activities … Read More

A system of interlocking trays developed by Designing Hope was entrusted to the women of Malanti to optimize their plant production. This durable and resistant system avoids the use of disposable cups, which are difficult to find locally.

The children from the nursery were introduced to gardening at the Villiot garden by planting onion and oca bulbs on the earth beds that form the mandala. In the holes dug with their little shovels, they put potting soil to … Read More

In the bioclimatic greenhouse of the Grand Potager (Domaine de Fontenille), the Lauris preschool children realized seedlings. They filled their little cardboard pot with potting soil, then packed the soil. When the soil is almost at the top of the … Read More

At the health center of Bala, it is the preparation of the trays with the seeds of the partner of the project, Agrosemens: Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and lettuce. After only 3 days, the first shoots of the different varieties of … Read More

To prepare for spring, spinach seeds and young shoots from the bioclimatic greenhouse of the Grand Potager of @domainedefontenille were sown and transplanted onto a cultivation bed previously weeded and prepared using the campagnole. In order to stagger the harvests, seedlings … Read More

The Ivory Foundation has made available a clod press at the Bala center that is used to make compact blocks of soil for seedlings that require larger cups. With seeds from the seed project’s partner, Agrosemens, Abdourahmane and Aurélien, on … Read More

By partnering with APAF, an association for the promotion of fertilizer trees, The Ivory Foundation wishes to use the benefits of agroforestry in the seed production process. Several species of trees have been planted in the nursery: Mellifera, Leucaena, Gliricidia, … Read More

At the Bala health center, trays are being prepared with seeds from the project’s partner, Agrosemens: tomatoes, eggplants, chili peppers, bell peppers and lettuce. The trays were purchased in the region of Mbour, in Sandiara, because they are not available … Read More

In this video, Emile shows us an example of a beneficial crop combination in the Grand Potager de Fontenille, in the Luberon. Here, the cultivation mound is composed of white onions associated with savoy cabbage. This combination of alliums and … Read More

Temperatures are slowly rising in the South and it’s time to plant! Indeed, as the heat will be higher in the greenhouse, it will be an ideal setting to germinate young shoots. So, seedling lines have been drawn in a … Read More

Little demonstration of sowing at the Grand Potager of Fontenille, in the Luberon. On prepared ridges of 80cm wide, Mael , the head of cultivation in the vegetable garden, uses the single-row precision seed drill for a new row of … Read More

Sowing day at the Traversine … We enrich the soil to prepare the spring sowing

In order to quickly produce vegetables in the garden, a nursery has been set up in the office of Fundzisa Live Association, located near Macambeni. The plants can be grown with better control of the watering needs, and with better … Read More

On the occasion of the agroforestry training given by APAF in May 2017, a visit was organized to Ladysmith. The children of the Halfway House of Roosboom have set up a nursery and sowed the seeds of fertilizer trees given … Read More

Chaya is a plant of Central America similar to spinach. Chaya is easy to grow in temperate climate. It is tolerant to heavy rain and drought. Propagation can be done easily by cutting 20cm of the stems and planting them … Read More

The seeds of fertilizer trees are covered with a natural coat which protects them but which also slows down the germination process. Some seeds require a scarification, which breaks this protective envelope. The seeds of moringa or gliricidia require only … Read More

Preparation of winter seedlings in plastic buckets. The seedlings will then be placed on the garden beds.

Fundzisa Live’s garden now hosts the nursery that supplies the various gardens around Piggs Peak Macambeni Garden, Piggs Peak Hospital Garden, and the school gardens, in addition to the local nurseries allready in place in each school. The seedlings are … Read More

The children harvested the seeds of chard ribs which they let grow seeds in the garden. These non-hybrid biological seeds can be reproduced.

In Piggs Peak, at Fundzisa Live’s garden, the women in charge of Designing Hope’s Garden Project harvest seeds after each season. They keep the best lettuces for instance, let them grow and then move them out of the garden bed … Read More