Inspirational stories

Together with Städte ohne Hunger e. V. (“Cities Without Hunger”), KWS supports school gardens in Brazil so that children from low-income areas have access to fresh fruit and vegetables (see “From science to vegetable growing,” insideKWS 02/25). In Germany, there is a similar initiative in Berlin with Acker e. V. – and our Berlin colleagues got stuck in with their shovels in March. Together, the volunteers dug up a field to prepare it for the next planting season. Children can learn how food is grown in the school garden that has been created there. This engagement is already reaping rewards, as the garden now grows fruit and vegetables that the children also harvest themselves – so that the focus is back on agriculture and vegetable growing.

Our colleagues in Brazil also went from the field to the classroom. They had actually only been preparing a nearby plot for a field day to launch the new Tropikalia watermelon when the local primary school showed interest in their work. In the small town of Estrela do Norte in the state of Goiás, 300 kilometers from the capital Brasília, the people are closely connected to agriculture, with watermelon cultivation in particular shaping their region.

One thing led to another, and the KWS Vegetables team was invited to give a presentation and visited the primary school the very next day. In addition to fresh vegetables, the team also brought along exciting insights into the topics of agriculture and sustainability and talked about the importance of education in this context. “It was a very special moment for our team and our partners,” said Eduardo Albonico, Regional Head of Sales. “We’re truly grateful for the opportunity to carry out this joint action – and for the partnership that inspires us to promote further initiatives like it.”