Driving Question
How can we as CMS students demonstrate how to solve food challenges in our local and global communities?
Project Overview
In the 21st century there are several individuals in communities and globally that struggle to have a hot meal every day.
In a community financial challenges may allow individuals not to have a meal,
While on a global basis environmental issues such as deforestation, desertification, lack of water and water pollution may also be a challenge for the citizens of a country in growing crops for food.
Lack of food can result in malnutrition that can finally lead to death.
It is said...
"give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime"
I think we can use this same mentality with our driving question. We can solve the driving question for this quarters PBL by bringing the materials and knowledge of how to create a sustainable and healthy food source to areas that need it.
Science PBL
In the science portion of the PBL project, we focused on the science behind growing crops. To do this we started by planting the radish seeds in a 4 by 4 in pot to grow in blue light to see how it grew in different conditions. At the end of this experiment, I learned that it takes practice, patient, and the right conditions to grow a radish, let alone enough food to feed a family.
For the science aspect of growing food, photosynthesis is very important to growing a radish. The type light you put it under can drastically effect how your plant grows. For example, if you put your plant under green light, it is SURE to die because of the chloroplast in the plant cells.
The chloroplast takes in white light and reflect green light and when they take in the white white they use that create glucose which they can turn into energy. But, if if doesn't have any light to take in it will die because it lacks energy to perform daily tasks. We can then increase the rate of plant growth by placing it under white light, giving it the proper amount of water and set it some where that it can get enough carbon dioxide and oxygen to perform photosynthesis and cellular respiration
(Cellular respiration is when the mitochondria in a cell uses glucose and glucose to create carbon dioxide, water, and ATP energy.)
2nd Quarter PBL in Math
To launch our project in math, my class started by going out and looking at the school made gardens and taking measurement of the dimensions of all of the planters.
We then recorded all of the measurements in the green packets. With the green packets when explored how to find the cost of various planters, different plants, and all the materials to plant a garden. To do this, we had to find the unit price of wood, seeds, dirt, and nails.
During this, I discovered that the amount of money it takes to grow food in planter is much different that what I thought it would be. If we bring this knowledge to people who need it around the world then they can use the info to properly grow food in their area.
For this project, I will use the example of Giza Governorate, Egypt
Current Meals in Giza Governorate, Egypt
Kushari
Rice, black lentils, spaghetti, round little pasta rings, whole hummus, caramelized onions, and thick tomato sauce. Now toss all the previous ingredients together in one big bowl, add some hot sauce and vinaigrette and you have yourself some Kushari.
Kabab wa kofta (Grilled meats)
Succulent grilled meat cubes and seekh kebab, typically made out of veal or lamb, they are usually served with bread (baladi) and an assortment of green salads and dips, mostly tahini, baba ghanoush, and tzatziki. They are grilled over charcoal and they are a must for any meat lover visiting Egypt.
Sugoq wa Kibdah Iskandarani (Alexandrian Sausages and Liver)
Another treat for meat eaters, especially if they like their meat spicy; the sausages are cooked and left to simmer almost without end in a pan of very spicy chili tomato sauce, and the liver is cooked in its own spicy juices, served with Torshi. Should be immediately followed by a sandwich of halawa bel qeshta (sweet sesame paste with double cream) to balance the heat.
Crop suggestions for this region
Why Tepary Beans?
This specific plants can easily be grown in the Sahara Desert because they have adapted over time to grow during seasons of drought.
"Tepary beans grow successfully in desert and near-desert conditions. They are native to the American Southwest and have been a staple food crop there for hundreds, or probably thousands, of years. I have grown them successfully in Oregon."
-Jim Myers, professor of horticulture at Oregon State University
To grow a go summer harvest for these beans you should plant them in late May or early June.
Nutrition
They also have many health benefits. Tepary beans have 25% to 30% more protein than common beans such as navy, kidney and pinto. Tepary beans have high levels of iron, calcium, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. It also only has 2180 calories (in a 35 gram serving).
One problem you might face is during the night time when the soil gets very cold the bush beans will grow much slower. Another problem is that bush beans can only be grown well in the warm seasons of the year (Summer and Spring).
Why Corn?
Corn is a Summer time plant that can be grown in the heat of the Summer and can be be made into anything from tortilla shells to corn dog batter.
Growing Facts
Corn is a summer crop that is best grown in a climate that offers warm weather and long, sunny days. Some types of corn take 58 to 65 days to grow while others take longer. Corn is also a good crop to use because the ideal soil for corn is sandy loam that stays moist, without being too wet.
Nutritional Value
One good thing about corn is that 1 cup of corn has 606 calories and 16 grams of proteins as well as 25% of Iron.
A problem one might face when growing corn is that the soil needed for growing corn fast must be able to stay moist which might be a problem in the sandy desert.
Why carrots?
Carrot are a healthy food that can be eaten raw as well as prepared. It can be made into any from and healthy lunch to a nice desert.
Planting Info
Carrots are plants that prefer sandy soil and take around 2 ½ months (or 75 days) to ripen. Its best to finish planting your carrots some time in late February through early March to get the best harvest by the end of May.
Nutritional Facts
128 grams of carrots have 52 calories with 4 grams of dietary fiber and 1 gram of protein.
Carrots are vegetables that grow as the roots of the plants so this may make it hard to tell whether or not they are ripe is it's your first time growing carrots.
Another issue you may encounter while growing carrots in the deserts in that the soil needs to be deeply tilled which could be a problem in the sandy soil of the desert.
Why Peas?
Peas are nice fall plants that grow best in sand, clay, loam or a combination of these soils for that matter.
They can be planted in early-Spring to give you a good summer harvest
They're also delicious and healthy!
New Friends!
While living in Giza Governorate, Egypt one could expect to meet ethnic groups such as Arabian people who live in Northern Africa and the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. Because of this it may be a good idea to understand some Arabic because that is the language that the Arabic people speak.
Crop Rotation Plan
Tepary Beans can be planted the Spring in order to have a late Summer harvest.
The peas would be planted with the Tepary beans (in Spring) to get a plentiful Summer harvest.
While the peas and Tepary beans is beginning to harvest you can begin growing your corn in the Summer.
Then, around December, you can begin to plant your carrots to begin your harvest in late Winter. By then you can begin to grow your Tepary beans and Peas.
In Summary
Growing food may be hard but with the right tools, skills, and mindset you can feed yourself and a village!
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Thank you and I hope you enjoyed my presentation
Credits:
Created with images by condesign - "eat carrots peas" • garryknight - "Sweet Corn" • jackmac34 - "carrots basket vegetables" • Devanath - "pea peas vegetables" • Devanath - "pea peas vegetables" • Uki_71 - "corn on the cob corn nature" • jackmac34 - "carrots basket vegetables"