PATHANAMTHITTA: At a government school tucked away in the Sabarimala forest, lessons do not end with books and blackboards. Here, children are taught self-reliance through the food they eat, the clothes they wear, and the care they receive from their teachers.
The Government Tribal School at Attathod has added fish farming to its growing list of self-sufficiency initiatives, with three biofloc ponds with a capacity of 1.6 lakh litres being set up to provide fresh fish for the midday meal. The fisheries department and the Perunad panchayat implemented the project jointly.
The ponds are stocked with three varieties of fish — tilapia, Assam vala, and varal. Once the fish reach the required size, they will be harvested and served to the children as curry and fry.
“The school’s activities aim to make children self-reliant along with providing them education,” headmistress Sreeja Raj said.
The fish farm is part of the school’s larger effort to ensure nutritious food for children who come from tribal settlements scattered along the forest fringes. Terrace farming is already being practised on the campus, providing pesticide-free vegetables to the school kitchen. The school has also taken up honeybee and mushroom farming.
“The fish are grown here so that we can use them for the children’s meals. Fish is an important source of nutrition. We have three varieties in the three ponds, and once they are ready, we will prepare fish curry and fry for the children,” said Subeesh K M, who is in charge of the fish farm.
He also stays on the school premises and oversees the initiatives after school hours.
For the children, the school’s food programme is more than just a midday meal. The school provides food three times a day, ensuring that children who may otherwise struggle to get adequate nutrition receive regular meals. Dry fruits are also being served to the children as snacks.
The school, which has 40 students from Classes I to IV and four teachers, is the only government school in the Sabarimala forest region. Sajitha, Amitha and Sreelakshmi are the other teachers.
SCHOOL INITIATIVES GO BEYOND FOOD
Former teacher Biju Thomas Ambroori, who recently retired from service, is credited with introducing the self-reliance initiatives that have transformed the school which once lacked basic facilities. One such initiative began with something as simple as noticing the condition of the children’s clothes. Many students arrive from remote settlements where washing clothes every day is difficult.
Their clothes often become soiled or torn while travelling through the forest terrain. Seeing this, Biju and the other teachers began washing the children’s clothes themselves. The school later introduced a system under which children are provided clean clothes in the morning and return them after classes. The teachers wash and iron the clothes so that they are ready for the next school day. “We wash their clothes as we consider them our own children,” the teachers said.