From seed to sustainability, pupils at Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom are getting their hands dirty – and learning lessons that go far beyond the classroom.
By Marise Schoonraad, journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
Pupils at Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom, affectionately known as Potch Volkies, proudly showed off the maize planted as part of the group’s practical agricultural classes on Thursday, 26 February. All the money generated by the project is reinvested into this initiative to expand it further.
“Our agricultural project is a place where our pupils can experience the entire process of agriculture in practice – from planting to harvesting. It gives our children the opportunity not only to learn, but also to develop a love for agriculture,” says Riandi Pienaar, marketer at the school.
The school’s dream is eventually to generate enough income from maize to establish a feedlot that will also give pupils the opportunity to work with livestock and gain more practical experience, she says.
They are also very grateful to the community for their contribution to the project.
“We were 100% dependent on the community’s help with the process. We can only testify to how the Lord sent the right people to help – from sponsors to manual labour. Everyone pitched in,” says Pienaar.
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The school is grateful to organisations in the community that assisted with land preparation, the installation of a centre pivot and the provision of the necessary tractors and machinery.
From Empty Field to Bountiful Harvest
The project took place on school property, which had been vacant for years. A total of 4,5 ha of maize was planted on the school grounds and more than 7 000 cobs were harvested and sold on the school’s harvest day.
The school’s first harvest day was extremely successful, says Pienaar. There were more than 20 agricultural and food stalls, pupils participated in “boeresport” such as sack races and maize relays and two bands performed in the evening. The day was a lot of fun and, of course, there was maize for sale by the dozen, both fresh and cooked.
The high school was also able to do its part for goodwill and distributed maize to old-age homes and welfare organisations.
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