The Cabildo of Lanzarote has successfully completed the ecological agriculture and sustainable gardening training project Roots of Change, aimed at young people at risk of social exclusion.
In collaboration with the Martínez Abolafio Canary Foundation, the course has had the participation of 14 students from different centers of the island. Among them, Hogar La Alegranza, the minor centers of Tinajo, Mácher and Yaiza, as well as Trib-arte.
The Councilor for Social Welfare, Marci Acuña, stressed the “value of this experience” and stated that this course “shows that we can open new life opportunities for young people in vulnerable situations.” In addition, he stressed that “we have managed to acquire practical knowledge linked to the agricultural tradition of Lanzarote.”
Likewise, Marci Acuña highlighted, with respect to the social dimension of the program, that “thanks to this course, young people from different centers of the islands and with very diverse realities have shared learning, experiences and the possibility of feeling an active part of our community.”
For her part, the president of the Martínez Abolafio Canary Foundation, Catalina Martínez, explained the dynamics of the training and stressed the need to provide this group of students with a series of tools so that they can have more autonomy.
The program, aimed at women and men under 30 years of age, people at risk of social exclusion and formerly protected minors, lasted 150 hours, combining theory and practice with an ecological approach.
The students were also able to enrich their learning thanks to the collaboration of different entities and professionals on the island, who provided them with training experiences outside the classroom.
At the Teguise Agroindustrial Complex, Professor Teno Osorio taught young people the traditional method of sowing with rofe, a unique agricultural technique in Lanzarote. In addition, they learned to prepare land, use seedbeds and adapt crops according to the season.
Practical experiences on farms and spaces on the island
The students had the opportunity to get to know different environments on the island that brought them closer to the reality of agriculture, gardening and sustainable management of the territory. Through guided tours and training sessions, they discovered the contrasts between the different production models, the importance of soil care and biodiversity, as well as the value of native and pollinating species.
These experiences were complemented with practical workshops that allowed them to work directly with cultivation techniques, composting and use of natural resources, in addition to exploring the gastronomic potential of local products.
