Food For Thought
A programme that links schools in Devon with those in rural Uganda and explores sustainable food growing

LATEST! Read about the recent World Food Day held at Awsland Farm, near Torrington, North Devon. The newsletter was produced using information collected by the children who attended from four primary schools. Click here

LATEST! Read about a special Professional Development Course held in Uganda in the summer of 2008. This course focused on child-centred learning, creating a positive ethos for learning, motivating and involving children in their learning, group work, using the outdoors, special needs, thinking skills and intellectual development, numeracy, literacy and communication skills, lesson planning and assessment. Click here

For further information on the Food for Thought project use the links below (all are in pdf format):

	To find out more about the project and how your school can become involved in this valuable and exciting linking programme click here For details on other ways you can support and become involved in the Food for Thought project click here
	For the latest Food for Thought newsletter including details of a recent visit by Ugandan District Education Officers to Devon click here
	Learn more from two evaluation reports. 2007 Evaluation report on the ten Primary Schools in Devon and Charmouth that are part of the Devon – Uganda Schools Linking Programme. 2005 Evaluation report on the impact of the project in Ugandan schools.
	A Review of Teacher Effectiveness in Food For Thought Schools, July 2007. A report by consultant Jean Harrison following visits to Ugandan schools. Click here

The key aims of the Food for Thought programme are to provide:

A crucial aspect of the programme is to give pupils in Uganda the skills to be able to feed themselves and their families using sustainable methods - and to make them proud of being farmers.

Food for Thought works in rural schools in the Mubende and Gulu Districts of Uganda – plus one special school in Kampala (the capital).

The partner organisation in Uganda is the Kulika Charitable Trust, which has a very strong programme on sustainable agriculture and provides Key Farmer Trainers, small scale farmers trained in sustainable agriculture, to work with teachers and pupils in school gardens. This work is vital. Without good food-growing skills, these rural young people face an uncertain future. Key Farmer Trainers work in the schools at least one day each month for a period of three years and are paid £17 a day by Food for Thought. They train pupils with confidence because they have proved on their own farms that the methods work!

Agriculture is the backbone of Uganda’s economy. Over 80% are farmers. Young
people in rural communities have little choice but to work the land on leaving
primary school. Food For Thought was established in 2001 and works with approximately 9000 pupils in 15 schools in Uganda, teaching them skills to be
successful sustainable farmers, as well as providing a ‘window on the world’ through their links with schools in the UK.

For the linked schools in UK, the Food for Thought programme enhances their school curriculum in a variety of subjects including citizenship, PSHE, Science and Geography as well as literacy, DT, Art and Food Technology.

Furthermore, school linking has taken on a much higher national profile in recent years and Food For Thought provides an excellent sustainable and supported link with a school in a developing country.