Belola School Garden Project

Spend It Well and Balibo House partnered with a local Timorese NGO to establish a school garden at Belola School in 2019. School children are taught about food nutrition and production and the garden produces food which is used to feed the children. But the project goes much further than that as the garden is used as a teaching base from which people from surrounding villages are educated about horticulture and food production. A women's co-operative was also established at Belola School which has grown, harvested and sold its first crop of Moringa powder (a high protein and vitamin supplement).

Rotary Port Melbourne has now funded Stage 2 of the School Garden Project. This project will support the Belola School Garden and women's co-operative for another 12 months as well as establish gardens at five additional schools. Rotary Port Melbourne has also supported 30 young people from the surrounding areas to attend a 3 day seminar on water conservation, one of the most pressing issues facing rural villages in East Timor.


Belola school garden planting


Belola school garden helpers		Preparing the ground


Belola school garden		Repurposing used bottles in the Belola garden


Moringa produced by the Balibo Women's Co-operative