Our organic farm
Our dream
From the beginning, our purpose was to create a new type of school environment where children would have the opportunity to get their hands dirty and truly discover the natural world that surrounds them.
When we found the two-acre property on Dharmarama Road, there was nothing but a big ancient farm house from the early 1900s, nestled in the middle of dense jungle. After tending to the land, we discovered old growing beds by the rice paddies; our dream of a sweet little veggie patch instantly grew to something much bigger—we now had the honour and privilege to help restore the site back to its historic function. At present, we are growing on roughly 2000 square meters of land with plans to expand the gardens along with the school.
Permaculture farming
The farm is 100% organic but not only that, we are following the philosophy and practice of permaculture. A majority of the materials used to build our structures or work the land having come straight from the land itself. Our chickens and cows are an essential part of our ecosystem as they provide compost to feed the plants. The food waste from our kitchen goes into our compost, the heart of the property, the rich compost goes back to our growing beds. We grow a range of beautiful flowers which attract the bees that help to pollinate our plants. The growing beds sit by rice paddies just above ground water level, this is an ancient method of growing used across South East Asia that allows us to save water, as the roots will find water by themselves. We believe in growing the plants that grow the best within the eco system of our premises. Some of the procure we have managed to grow so far are tomatoes, snake gourd, chillis, potatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, coconuts, papayas, bananas, pineapples, black pepper, lime, kaffir lime, guava, ambarella, spinach, gottukola, green beans, long beans, salad, different types of herbs and we are developing and testing more things as we progress.
Involving our children
As the students tend to the plants, they will observe the diverse range of flowers, vegetables, herbs, fostering an understanding of plant life cycles and botanical diversity. Additionally, while caring for the garden, they will encounter various insects, birds, and small creatures, igniting their curiosity about the intricate relationships within this vibrant ecosystem. Harvesting the crops together with the children is a highlight. Most days, we have an abundance of fruits and vegetables ready to be picked.
Home cooking
All meals at Good Dharma School will be prepared on-site and the children will be involved in the cooking process throughout the week. In our first season, we aim to provide 50% of all school meals from our very own garden. As we progress, we will work towards a comprehensive farm-to-table production that is completely self-sustainable.
From farm to table
Head Gardener Anura inspecting the crops in our food forest
