summer volunteers

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looking to gain hands-on experience in maintaining an organic garden and work with children? enhancing your architectural and design skills? interacting with young students about learning from the great outdoors?
you are the volunteers we are looking for!
to work on the Abruzzi School Garden project in the spectacular Shigar valley in Baltistan. The village of Siankhor, where the school is located, is nestled at the foot of the Karakorams, seven kilometers from Shigar town and a ten minute drive from the historic Shigar Fort. Continue reading →

the Muhammad Ali Center/National Gardening Association Peace Garden grant

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i am delighted that the Abruzzi School Garden project has been awarded a  $500.00 grant by the Muhammad Ali Center Peace Garden Grant, and the National Gardening Association, one of 50 schools awarded from among 700 applicants.

http://www.kidsgardening.org/node/75480

winning programs reflected the importance of garden programing to multiculturalism, nutrition, hunger awareness, peace studies and the important role gardens play in the lives of students, teachers, and the community.

$400 worth of gardening supplies which include

3 Recycled Circular Raised Beds

12-Piece Kid’s Tools Set

6 Sets of Kid’s Work Gloves 

Garden Composter

Curriculum

shovels, hoes, rakes

gloves, raised vegetable beds, spades

 

 

 

and $100 in cash for plants and soil, all of which will provide a wonderful boost to this new school garden program

 

 

 

 

 

Computer Connection Institute Sialkot – Jan 2012 training

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Thanks to Mr Sohail Khan’s generous gift to three staff members, one admin and four students of the Abruzzi school, all have received a one month basic computer training course at his IT institute in Sialkot. Accompanying them for this training was Anwar Ali the school garden project coordinator and eight students of Grace Public school Skardu. Continue reading →

How it started and where we’re at

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I came upon ‘Shigar Center’, on a cold December morning in 2008 – a detour on my way to China from Rawalpindi by bus on the KKH. With the Shigar Fort closed for the winter I got the chance instead to walk around and explore the surrounding town of Shigar. I discovered a rich and wonderful landscape even in bare bones winter that forever captured my imagination.

Per chance, I met Salman Beg, CEO of AKCSP, during that brief winter interlude. It led me in Sept 2009, to take on a two month consultancy position with AKCSP to design the Abruzzi School Garden and to teach five Shigri female interns with WSE (women’s social enterprise, an AKCSP initiative in Gilgit Baltistan) the principles of landscape design. My objective was twofold

  • to champion the concept of a ‘teaching garden’. A logical step to teach the children of farmers via the lens of agriculture in understanding Science, Math, Urdu and English by hands on experiential method.
  • and to create a new vocation for the female interns, to look beyond the only two professions that are available and acceptable for women in Shigar – school teacher and health worker. Continue reading →