SHILLONG, March 31: As many as 13 communities from Laitkroh and Shella blocks on Friday came together for an event on ‘School Meals Festival-cum-Agroecology Learning Circle (ALC) Cluster Sharing’, which was organised by the North East Slow Food & Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) at Laitsohpliah, East Khasi Hills.
According to a statement here, the one-day event showcased school meal platters and listened to grassroots voices of Agroecology Learning Circle (ALC) groups of the participating communities.
The programme kick-started with an exhibition of the school meals competition and showcased platters that had been prepared by five schools the Blocks, viz. Nongtraw RCLP School, Subakalai SSA LP School, Laitsohpliah RCLP UP School, Dewlieh Govt. LP School and Mawmihthied Govt. LP School.
Conducted as part of the ‘Linking Schools to Agrobiodiversity for improved Diets, Nutrition and Livelihoods’ initiative of NESFAS, the competition was aimed at increasing access of schoolchildren to healthy, nutritious and diverse balanced diets through school meals.
Dewlieh Govt. LP School was declared winner of the competition for its excellent demonstration of an innovative school meal platter, focussing on meeting the nutritional needs of the children.
The event also highlighted the grassroots work of Agroecology Learning Circle (ALC) farmers, who are part of the ‘Empowering Indigenous Communities through ALCs for Resilient, Integrated and Innovative Natural Resource Management’ innovation project initiated by NESFAS and with funding from MBMA as part of an Innovation Grant under the World Bank-aided ‘Community Led Landscape Management Project (CLLMP)’.
During the event, Executive Director, NESFAS, Pius Ranee, shared about the diversity of food species that existed in rural Meghalaya and called upon everyone to work towards embellishing the food culture of the state — citing that the school meal platter display had been thought of for the same purpose.
He also shared his delight in how schoolchildren are now more appreciative of the local food system and praised the schools that have come up with innovative recipes for their school meals.
Ranee also informed that it is NESFAS’ aim to work with more schools in Meghalaya for the school meals initiative.
Rilang Nongrum of Subakalai School, Laitsohpliah, then gave a brief explanation of the different kinds of food that were displayed during the midday meal.
Cheerfillius Khongngain, a schoolteacher from Dewlieh, expressed his gratitude to NESFAS for the initiative, while stressing that the onus is now on the communities to preserve the huge diversity that exists in the region.
P Rynjah, Block Mission Coordinator, Laitkroh, on the other hand, appreciated the talents displayed by the schoolchildren and the ALC groups of different communities.
She said, “I shall pass this message to all the concerned government departments so that they can include more items in midday meals and other necessary things.”
As part of the programme, an award ceremony for the best-performing ALC and Community Facilitator of Laitkroh and Shella clusters, and a prize distribution for the school meals competition was also held.
Meanwhile, Founding Chairperson of NESFAS, Phrang Roy, praised the participating communities for their exemplary work and conveyed that NESFAS will always follow the knowledge of the communities in bringing change.
“We must strengthen the biodiversity of nature so that we can be free from climate change and indigenous farming is pivotal for securing the future we aspire for,” said Roy.