Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS) Saskia Hьsken Food and Agriculture Organisation Zambia Prepared for: Forum Dual epidemics of HIV/AIDS and Food Insecurity Lusaka, Zambia 8 – 12 May 2006

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Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools
(JFFLS)Saskia HüskenFood and Agriculture
Organisation Zambia Prepared for Forum Dual
epidemics of HIV/AIDS and Food Insecurity
Lusaka, Zambia8 12 May 2006
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JFFLS

• What is the concept all about?
• A response to the increased vulnerability of
• children and young people, especially those
• orphaned due to AIDS.

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JFFLS seeks to

• Address skills and knowledge gaps created by
  premature death of parents
• Provide a safe space for these children to play
  and learn
• Re-assure the children that they are valuable
  members of the community.

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JFFLS

• JFFLS is a process of empowering
• orphans and other vulnerable children.
• Through building of skills and
• providing relevant knowledge as tools to
• help the children to improve their lives and
• livelihoods.

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Junior Farmer Field and Life School

• Junior
• JFFLS targets children and young people between
  12 - 18.
• Equal number of girls and boys.

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Junior Farmer Field and Life School

• Farmer
• JFFLS targets rural youth.
• Most of them will settle in rural areas and
  derive their livelihoods from farming.

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Junior Farmer Field and Life School

• Field
• A learning field is used as a living laboratory,
  to provide practical skills to the juniors.
• Crops and livestock are raised in a small plot of
  land.
• Juniors use the plot to learn how to raise
  healthy plants and/or livestock.

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Junior Farmer Field and Life School

• Life
• Focus on the lives and livelihoods of
• orphans and other vulnerable children.
• The JFFLS provides the children with life
• skills leadership skills, gender equality, human
  
• rights, HIVAIDS awareness, self-esteem,
• confidence, etc.

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Junior Farmer Field and Life School

• School (without walls)
• The concept of school is used flexibly
• to imply interaction between learners and
  facilitators in both time and space.
• to emphasize participatory learning instead of
  regular, hierarchical instructional learning.
  

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JFFLS

• In this approach school means
• Facilitation rather than instruction
• Learning by doing rather than by hearing
• Active experimentation rather than passive
  acceptance of facts
• Reflection, innovation and flexibility rather
  than a rush to cover the curriculum.

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JFFLS

• JFFLS is a participatory approach
• Active involvement of learners in the learning
  process.
• The children are seen as experts with knowledge
  to share.
• The children are strengthened in their ability to
  express their needs.

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JFFLS

• In JFFLS children learn by doing, investigating,
  experimenting, making mistakes, observing and
  drawing conclusions under the guidance of a
  committed and qualified facilitator.
• Learning has to be fun, interesting, stimulating
  and challenging.

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JFFLS

• Learning of Agricultural Skills
• Soil preparation
• Applying manure
• Sowing
• Weeding pest control
• Harvesting
• Storage Processing
• Preparing preservation of food

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JFFLS

• Additional skills
• Small livestock production (rabbits, guinea pigs)
• Entrepreneurial skills
• Medicinal plants
• Fish farming

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JFFLS

• Learning of Life Skills
• For understanding the environment in which they
  live,
• To fight stigma and discrimination,
• To develop ways to organise their lives in a way
  that minimises risk and danger.
• To regain self-esteem and discover their
  potential to contribute to their community.

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JFFLS

• Multi-sectoral approach in Zambia
• Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives
• Ministry of Health
• Ministry of Education
• Ministry of Community Development and Social
  Services
• With technical support from FAO.
• And food supply from WFP.

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JFFLS

• This multi-sectoral team at district level
• ensures active involvement of community.
• The community
• selects the JFFLS participants,
• selects community facilitators,
• appoints the plot of land for the JFFLS, and
• advises on which Income Generating
• Activities the JFFLS will start up.

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JFFLS

• Zambia
• Pilot project in Pemba, Choma District.
• 30 children 15 girls and 15 boys.
• Activities undertaken
• - poultry rearing
• - vegetable garden

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Bee-keeping
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Mushroom growing
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JFFLS

• Lessons learned from pilot project
• Involvement of community.
• Selection of participants vulnerability.
• Integration of life skills.
• Multi-sectoral approach requires proper
  coordination.
• Involvement of Provincial office.
• Where do the children go from here?

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Thank you!