Saving Paradise

Category: Heritage Gardens | Date: Oct 09 2009 | By: savingparadise

Things are shaping up here at Roche Caiman as we prepare for the official opening of the Heritage Garden. Lucina is pruning and watering. Displays are up at the Kiosk. Invitation cards have been sent.

The opening of the Garden will coincide with the World Food Day, celebrated annually on 16 October. This year’s theme is Achieving food security in times of crisis. Nature Seychelles and the Seychelles Agriculture Agency will sign an MoU at the opening, enabling these two organizations to work together.  Other partners joining in these festivities are the Wildlife Clubs of Seychelles, Seychelles Fishing Authority and the Farmers Association.

The Heritage Gardens© is a joint Project between Nature Seychelles  and the Wildlife Clubs, with the collaboration of the Department of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Education. Its vision is to introduce young people to plants that were valued by their parents enabling them to become custodians of a rich biological heritage.

The Heritage Garden at Roche Caiman has been designed by Nature Seychelles as a model to be replicated by Wildlife Clubs in schools and by the community at home. Not only do we collect plant species that are richly filled with historical value for propagation in the school-based clubs as well as to the adjoining communities, we also collect and collate their stories. 22 schools are taking part in the project. School Heritage Gardens© range from small to medium sized ones. Learning not only concentrates around the use of these plants but also basic ecological concepts, history, folklore and language.

The Heritage Garden at Roche Caiman has the Gro Manze, loosely translated as the “big food”, the  generic Creole vernacular for starchy food crops like yams, taro, sweet potatoes, plantains (cooking banana) and breadfruit.  Another section has different kinds of spices. Another medicinal plants. In the past Geriser (healers) and Herbalists had knowledge of which plant to pick for anything from a rash to a critical fever. They kept extensive gardens of medicinal plants. The sad thing is that today they are few and far between. The garden reminds us that these plants are beneficial to us.

This Project won the Commonwealth Youth Development Award in 2007. The citation read: By preserving and maintaining an important part of Seychelles culture and traditions that is in danger of being lost, the Project is of benefit to local communities. It adds value to the communities and their local resources by promoting understanding of the value of the plants that are around us, that fosters care of the local environment.”

Tags: heritage garden, medicinal plants, Seychelles