Co-op Development Action
Greenhouse grows more than plants — co-op teaches
youth about nutrition, community involvement
By Rita Simerly
Cooperation Works!
he Attala County Self-Help Cooperative
(ACSHC) is helping to expand and
strengthen community involvement in Attala
County, Miss. ACSHC was formed in 2005
to save rural resources in central Mississippi
through the use of educational outreach programs that target
small landowners with limited assets. The primary focus of
the effort is on agriculture and horticulture.
While the organization serves adults, it also has a number
of youth-oriented programs that promote education related
to sustaining and preserving natural resources. Inspired by
the success of their neighbors at the Winston County Self-
Help Cooperative, ACSHC has grown from 12 members in
2005 to 27 paying members today, including four women and
15 youths.
As both a founder and youth coordinator for ACSHC,
Daniel Teague is currently focusing on expanding children’s
participation through the Attala County Youth
Greenhouse/Garden Project. This project involves the
construction and maintenance of a greenhouse on the Long
Creek Elementary School campus in Sallis, Miss. Children
from kindergarten to sixth grade are participating in the
effort.
Promoting ag sustainability
The greenhouse both serves as an educational tool for
agricultural sustainability and helps recruit new members to
get involved in the cooperative.
“We brought in youth [to participate] from the lay-out
stage when there was nothing on the ground,” says Teague.
“We let them participate and got them involved. We’re
letting them take part in every aspect of its construction.”
The goal of the project is to inspire children and teenagers
to take charge of what, and how, they eat by teaching them
about small-scale gardening through hands-on experience.
The importance of healthy eating is especially salient in
Mississippi, where about 32 percent of the adult population is
categorized as obese, according to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Because roughly 80 percent
of obese children are likely to become obese adults, it is
important to begin nutritional education early.
By offering a fun and informative after-school activity,
ACSHC not only educates students about sharing and
working cooperatively within their community, but about
improving their health and lifestyle for years to come.
ACSHC has received local support from members through
donations of seeds, building materials, money and volunteer
assistance from adults and youth. More funds are being
sought for future expansion of the project.
“There has been a melting pot of ways people have
assisted us,” says Teague, noting that the Greenhouse should
be completed this spring. “I’ve been very pleased with the
result.”
