The schools and colleges permaculture (SCOPE) programme in Zimbabwe

Abstract

One of the main environmental problems in Zimbabwe is that of land degradation. It is often argued that current agricultural practices worsen this problem by causing damage to the land and water resources. In response to this problem, sustainable agriculture has commonly been seen as the way forward. Our current farming practices have tended to focus on short term gains at the expense of long term production capacity. As par of a network of initiatives towards sustainable agriculture, the Zimbabwe Institute of Permaculture (ZIP) in association with the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture formed a programme to promote sustainable agriculture schools. The projects is called the Schools and Colleges Permaculture (SCOPE) Programme and it was launched in 1994 as a pilot project working with 18 schools (9 primary and 9 secondary) located all over the country.