Watch: 7-Year-Old Blind Farmer Plants Stevia At ‘Agriculture Beyond Light Workshop’
Seven-year-old “champ” Lee Abela was working hard at the Agriculture Beyond Light workshop growing local fresh stevia.
The Agriculture Beyond Light workshop was launched in 2017 by the Visual Non-Visual Network (VNVN) and the Ministry for Agriculture to give blind farmers the opportunity to hone their cultivation skills.
However, one of the members of the VNVN said that only “Junior Minister Alicia Bugeja Said and Senior Minister Anton Refalo” are helping the organisation out.
The farmers of the VNVN aim to be the first Maltese fresh stevia growers for the local demand and beyond.
Leaves of the stevia plant are used to make a sugar substitute that doesn’t add calories, unlike other sweeteners.
Several stevia species called candyleaf are native to New Mexico, Arizona and Texas while prized species grow in Paraguay and Brazil.
In these regions, the plant is used in traditional medicine as treatment for burns, colic, stomach problems and sometimes as a contraceptive. The leaves are also chewed on their own as a sweet treat.
The VNVN aims to help visually impaired individuals acquire new skills and gain independence in order to cope more with social integration.
“We work towards the abolition of architectural, attitudinal, social, cultural, educational, employment and any other barriers that prevent the total integration and equal treatment of the visually impaired in the community,” the organisation’s website reads.
Meanwhile, other workshops have encouraged blind farmers in Malta to help diversify the island’s crop yield by growing and irrigating vegetables from Asia and Africa, like bitter melon (karela), lady’s fingers (okra), various cujete, and coriander.
Do you ever use stevia as a sweetener?
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