In June 2024, the first phase of a first food forest with a social purpose started in Wanica: providing the community with fruit, especially the children’s homes in the immediate area.
Entrepreneur Andrew Baasaron who heard Forest93 Ambassador Christio Wijnhard’s idea to create a food forest was immediately enthusiastic. Baasaron, CEO of AMPS, made a plot available to create this food forest and was present with his family to plant the first fruit trees. “It is particularly good for our family to know that together with others we can contribute to making our children in children’s homes healthier. We are grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to this wonderful project together with our partners.”
Christio Wijnhard is a social organizer, columnist and Forest93 Ambassador. He does social projects to rekindle the love for Mama Sranan and make a change in people’s lives. One of the projects he has been leading since the COVID period is the construction of Tiny Food Gardens at children’s homes. This initiative was created to help homes with fresh vegetables and herbs. In the midst of the pandemic and the economic crisis, vegetables were often no longer on the menu in homes. “By planting themselves, these homes can eat vegetables again, plus they know that they are providing healthy, unsprayed food to their children.”
Since 2022, 53 garden boxes have already been distributed to 6 institutions in 4 districts and 11 young people have been trained to do the plant care themselves.
The fruit trees that have gone into the ground in Wanica must grow into a fruit forest, the harvest of which will go to Children’s Home Riyos, and can then be distributed to other children’s homes in the area. If the harvest is such that there is overproduction, the home can sell it to generate income for their own maintenance. The plan is one for the future. “Only in many months will we literally be able to reap the benefits. Until then, we will embark on an educational process together with the Ministry of LVV, the CSR program of the company AMPS and the children of Riyos, in which we learn to grow, learn to care for and learn to love our natural environment,” says Wijnhard. “We work with children and have to feed them with quality. So we only use biological solutions.” The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries supports the planting projects in the various districts with planting material and training.
The construction of the fruit forest started thanks to a donation from Forest93 ambassador Jean-Pierre Veira. The young guide and nature photographer held his first photo exhibition in March with nature photos of animals in particular at the Earth Hour event of WWF Guianas in Torarica Hotel. The management of Torarica decided to purchase part of his collection to exhibit it in its hotel. Jean-Pierre donated the proceeds from this sale to Forest93’s social projects.
The proceeds of this exhibition were used to start the food forest.
This project will continue with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (Min LVV), who will help monitor and maintain the plot, together with the children from Riyos. Christio’s goal is to establish additional food forests in other districts.