During the afternoon of Feb. 22, 2022, a three-person team from Valle Escondido constructed a mini-greenhouse at the Escuela Altos de San Luis in Costa Rica with the intention of providing students access to organic vegetables. The team used tires, mesh wiring, plastic tubing and other found “junk” to create a “Jonah Tube,” which is an environmentally conscious “trash-to-treasure” covered garden. After adding a soil mixture of composted dirt to the trough, they planted tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, mustard, lettuce and basil. The project lasted only two hours from start-to-finish.

Teachers can use this mini-greenhouse to show young students how to water and take care of plants. Mariel Romero Méndez was the Valle Escondido point person for the project. She said children can participate in every step of the alimentation cycle—a process through which they plant, care for, harvest and eat what they grow. The school’s cook, Cristina Obando Arguedas, said children’s hands-on participation will teach them the importance of eating natural foods. 

This mini-greenhouse provides rural residents with easier access to nutritious foods while, at the same time, enabling students to expand their environmental awareness. As Romero Méndez said, “Without community, it’s just planting.”

Captioning and translation assistance courtesy of Tony Francisco Hernandez Jimenez.