Abruzzi Teaching Garden

The village of Siankhor in Baltistan's Shigar valley, sits on the road to Askoli, the starting point to treks in Pakistan's Karakorum mountain range. Of particular note, is 8,611m (28,251 ft) K2, amongst several other 8000 meter peaks. To mark the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of K2, by Italian climbers Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni, a 24 member team of Italians attended a ceremony at K2 base camp in June 2004. When they asked the mostly Balti audience what they could do to show gratitude to the Balti people, the community requested for a Co education school in Shigar valley. Not just another building, but to expand on their existing resources on education, and create an exemplary institution. The mountaineers sought help from the Italian Govt. to build this first co Ed school named after Luigi Amedeo, Duke of Abruzzi who first attempted to climb K2 in 1909. 

The Abruzzi school garden, brain child of Pakistani American garden designer Tahereh Sheerazie, began with her teaching five young Shigri women to design the schools garden space. Its story can be read on the schools volunteer generated website ...http://www.abruzzischoolgarden.com/2012/03/how-it-started-and-where-were...

In Shigar as with many other schools in rural Pakistan, the curriculum is largely taught through text books and rote memorization.Therefore introducing a hands on experiential method of learning, via a school garden program,  is critical to this first coeducation school in the area. With an emphasis on a student centered approach to the learning processes and teaching via the lens of agriculture, the garden aims to function as a living laboratory where lessons are drawn from real life experiences rather than text book examples, allowing students to become active participants in the learning process. It is a sustainable outdoor classroom space, engaging students by providing a dynamic environment in which to observe, discover, experiment, nurture and learn.
Furthermore, what makes this project an important and unique endeavor for this remote agrarian mountain community, is the concept of a 'Teaching Garden' whose design is derived from the local topography and traditional methods of farming and gardening in Baltistan, and conceived by the students of the school in 2011. As it continues to take root, it is the first school in the country to aspire to teach its entire curriculum via the lens of agriculture, the nations backbone. This summer the students have begun to tend the first vegetable beds, with teachers connecting them to their curriculum.

Learning from natural systems is a whole new concept for schools in Pakistan, and will take time, effort and resources to implement in its entirety. However, the merit of spending time and resources easily outweighs the cost required to sustain such a project, till the Shigris are themselves sufficiently trained and ready to replicate these ideas in other area schools. Over time, as the design grows and matures, much of these ideas will take on a shape of their own, allowing problems to become solutions that will reflect a unique Shigri venacular. 

Tahereh contines to look for avenues to fund and help extablish this first dedicated Teaching Garden school in Pakistan