Since 2015, the center has based the maintenance of its educational vegetable garden on permaculture principles. All the Fiers & Forts participate in the life of the garden, and it pays us back well, bringing harmony, balance, and delicious food to our plates so that both young and old can be healthy.
Produce our own vegetables and fruits for a healthy and varied diet
The mission of the Center has always been to provide a safe place for children to grow up well and be healthy. Nutrition plays a very important role in their physical and emotional development, and for that, what could be better than producing delicious organic vegetables and fruits ourselves? Thanks to the dedicated team of gardeners, the vegetable garden produces over 1.7 tons of vegetables and fruits each year. The 38 varieties harvested in the garden, rich in vitamins and minerals, provide a perfect balance of nutrients for the Fiers & Forts.
Develop and maintain a connection to the earth
We believe it is essential to live in contact with nature and that it is good to get our hands in the soil. Once a week, children take their little stools under their arms to sit under the garden trees and participate in their permaculture workshop. They discuss various topics such as natural soil fertilization, respect for cycles and seasons, or the invaluable value of a drop of water in an increasingly dry region. Then together, they sow, harvest, and maintain the mounds and rows. Beyond the permaculture workshops planned in the weekly program, some children develop a keen interest in gardening and lend a helping hand whenever they can.
This participation in the garden is educational, a source of many lessons about plant culture, as well as the sense of effort, respect for the environment, and the awareness of not wasting what has taken so much work and time to grow. When a child has planted a small seed with his own hands, which has sprouted and grown before his eyes for weeks, which he has cared for and waited patiently to harvest the fruit of his work, and he eagerly cooks this precious vegetable, it gives a different flavor to meals.
Live in a harmonious place
Being in good physical and emotional health thanks to good nutrition is very important, and flourishing in a beautiful harmonious and soothing environment is just as important. The garden is full of therapeutic virtues. A place of life, it welcomes at every moment a multitude of living beings, including our children and all their emotions: the joy of picking medlars together, the need to be alone for a moment to digest a frustration, a shared walk with an adult to cry and externalize grief... And its smells, its colors, its shaded spaces to sit and draw, the garden makes the days of all the Fiers & Forts more beautiful!
Permaculture is a sustainable farming design approach inspired by patterns observed in nature, in harmony and interconnectedness with plants, animals, and landscape elements. Permaculture encourages efficient use of resources, soil regeneration, and crop diversity. Beyond the agricultural techniques it implies, it represents a real philosophy of life where animals, insects, humans, plants, and microorganisms live resiliently in a healthy environment.
In 2015, at the creation of the garden, it became obvious to us to choose permaculture. We were supported by professionals in the field for the realization of the garden plans, the choice of plantings, but also the training of our team of gardeners in this philosophy and its practices.
At Fiers & Forts, special attention is paid to food to offer children a healthy and varied diet. Vegetables occupy a large place in plates and tagines! Children are also made aware of the origin of food, thanks to their participation in the permaculture garden. By extension, when we wait for long days to see the lettuce seedling that we have transplanted ourselves grow, we are less tempted to waste. And then it's well known, Fiers & Forts fruits and vegetables taste much better!
It's about 5.9 tons of vegetables that were consumed at Fiers & Forts this year. They have 3 sources: From garden to plate, generous donations from our partners and friends, and as a last option, the Tamesloht souk.
of garden
of Olives
of Oranges
of Vegetables
meals served each day
of garden
of Olives
of Oranges
of Vegetables
meals served each day
