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| Project Updates from the GreenHand Field School, Aceh |
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Update 07 - posted 10/10/06
August saw the GreenHand Field School project successfully:
- Complete its very first Permaculture training course designed specifically for women. The pilot course came about as a direct response to observations from previous Village Development Courses, intended to create a positive environment where women were comfortable to actively participate.
- Commence outreach training for the communities in Jantho at the request of Swiss-based International Organization of Migration (IOM)
- Commence distribution of water purification systems to local communities on behalf of Leuser International Foundation.
- Open its new office in Banda Aceh
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Update 06 - Posted 28/08/06
As of July 2006, the GreenHand Field School project has been running successfully for just over one year. In this report we reflect on the current situation and continuing challenges faced in Aceh, and look at how the GreenHand Field School is addressing these challenges through the provision of a practical, hands-on sustainable community development program, which works with people from throughout Aceh to offer training and tools for community recovery, based on the principles of Permaculture Design. |
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Update 05 - Posted 26/07/06
May and June 2006, saw the GreenHand Field School project successfully:
- Conclude its 5th Village Development Course (VDC) - with 30 successful graduates
- Conduct livelihoods training for women in 4 local villages
- Complete up it’s 2nd Training of Trainers course - with 13 graduates now certified as GreenHand Trainers
- Host several specialist trainers from IDEP’s HQ in Bali – who taught special courses in Community Based Waste Management, Seed Saving and Wastewater Gardens
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Click here to read more about these activities |
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Dessy Haryanti Soelthan is a key member of the GreenHand Team, she is a dynamic trainer who specializes in Waste Management and also supports the Field School by managing its Administration needs.
Click here to read Dessy's profile. |
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Click here to see updated photos of the program's activities |
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Update 04 - Posted 09/06/06
In March and April, the GreenHand Field School successfully concluded its 4th Village Design Course with 22 Graduates, and welcomed Richard Mason from UBS as a visitor and specialist trainer.
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The 4th VDC was a great achievement, the first training at the school successfully and entirely run by Indonesian GreenHands, 80% of whom are tsunami survivors.
Click here to read more about the training |
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Diawan Subhan (Iwan) is a respected student trainer at the GreenHand Field School.
Click here to read his profile |
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VDC 4 saw 22 students graduate, 90% of whom were from the local area. During the training they put the theory they learnt into practice, working in groups to create food gardens, make compost, save seeds and build a nursery.
Click here to see the photos |
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Update 03 - Posted 06/04/06
The GreenHand Field School in Lhoong, Aceh, continues to develop toward its goal as an Acehnese initiative. Its members are growing in confidence and ability.
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In February, the GreenHand Field School completed the important transition from the Start-Up Phase to the Implementation Phase. The project is now being locally managed. The initial batch of GreenHand graduates of the 3-month permaculture training course are preparing to teach their first Village Design Course. Permaculture Trainer Steve Cran is developing a curriculum for the Village Design Course.
Click here to read more about this process |
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M. Afnan is an integral part of the GreenHand team, working as the Field and Training Coordinator.
Click here to read his profile |
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Participants for the second VDC came from Bali and Aceh. They spent two weeks learning the basics of permaculture and each earned a certificate. The Balinese participants are now helping to set up a training facility in Bali.
Click here to see the photos |
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Update 02 - Posted 06/03/06
The Greenhand Field School continues to grow. From an abandoned house and an empty field in the village of Lamsujen, the GFS is quickly becoming a centre of expertise in organic growing techniques. A core staff of young Acehnese and rotating international volunteers live in the renovated house just 100 metres from the farm. Together, they maintain a home garden at the house while developing the 2-hectare site as a model farm and permaculture training centre. The current GFS team comprises 12 staff and trainees recruited from Lamsujen village and other areas of Aceh. Program and staff development is supported by the newly-hired program manager Roberto Hutabarat, who is based in Banda Aceh but travels regularly to the field. Roberto brings a range of experience and skills to the program, having worked with campaigns and programs based organisations throughout Indonesia. Welcome aboard Rob!
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More photos from the early days of the project have now been uploaded. See images of the first Village Development Course (VDC). Mornings are devoted to theory and in the afternoon students put into practice what they have learned. Besides design and mapping skills, they learn to make compost and potent natural fertilizers, and to harvest and save seeds for later propagation in the project nursery. The Demonstration Gardens are grown on swales which have been cut into the sloping land to control erosion. As the garden grows, the students learn Integrated Pest Management techniques to ensure chemical-free produce.
Click here to see the photos |
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Volunteer Paul Kean (Ringo) shares his initial impressions of Aceh and the GreenHand Field School.
Click here to read the report |
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Two young Balinese men were so inspired by the training at GFS that they decided to return to their family's land and restore it to chemical-free growing conditions. The following article appeared in the Bali Advertiser column 'Greenspeak' on February 1, 2006. Since its publication, Chakra's family has consented to allow its half hectare/one acre of rice fields, devastated by 20 years of intensive chemical farming, to be used as a demonstration and training site for rice field restoration and permaculture. The rest of the farm, on which IDEP already has a demonstration organic garden, has become the Bali Permaculture Project.
Click here to read the article |
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Update 01 - Posted 10/02/06
The end of 2005 was a pivotal time for the GreenHand Field School. The Acehnese trainees took to the challenge of shaping the land into a living garden and built paths, gates, nurseries and other facilities from materials at hand. The GFS is now a lush working garden with a training hall, accommodation tents, storage sheds and ablution blocks. January 2006 saw the completion of the third Village Development Course at GFS. Thirty four students from surrounding villages in Lhoong and Banda Aceh graduated from the course. The school's first 10 week GreenHand Training of Trainers course is now nearing completion with thirteen trainees in attendance
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Photos from the early days of the project are now available online.
Please visit our Photo Galleries section to see the progress that has been made.
Click here to see the photos |
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In November 2005, GreenHand Field School Acehnese participants produced a report on the progress of the facility to date. Read what they accomplished in a few short weeks.
Click here to read the report |
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| Click here to read reports from the early days of the project |
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