With the Solidarity School Garden project, the Guiana Forest Discovery Center (CEDEFOG) and the Surinamese foundation SUWAMA have revived educational gardens and created bridges between students, educators, and environmental stakeholders in French Guiana and Suriname. Led by CEDEFOG, this first cross-border collaboration also reveals the behind-the-scenes story of a partnership: a decisive response to a simple email, a workshop conducted in four languages, financial transfers fraught with challenges, and, above all, a trust that allows the project to continue to thrive even after the funding ends. Interview with Lucile Dudoignon, co-founder and project coordinator for CEDEFOG.
From the Guyanese forest to regional cooperation
For over twenty years, Lucile Dudoignon has worked in French Guiana focusing on forestry and environmental education. After experiences with the National Forestry Office, in nature reserves, and within several associations, she developed her own educational activities and then became involved in the creation of the Guiana Forest Discovery Centre (CEDEFOG).
Located in the agricultural and forestry area of Kourou, a few kilometers from Monkey Mountain, the association has an educational garden and three hectares of Amazonian forest dedicated to discovery, awareness and experimentation.
His commitment is based on a conviction that has accompanied him throughout his career:
«"To protect an environment, you must first know and love it."»
Lucile Dudoignon
When Lucile discovered the CORÉOM call for projects, she was already thinking about developing a project around shared and educational gardens. However, the call for projects prompted a shift in perspective: why limit this reflection to French Guiana, when similar experiences and needs exist on the other side of the border?
The program includes: a 2-day workshop, visits to farms (aquaponics, permaculture), and the revitalization of educational gardens at three schools in Moengo.
The local project is thus beginning to take on a regional dimension.
One initial email, an immediate response
CEDEFOG does not yet have an identified partner in Suriname. Lucile therefore begins by conducting online research and contacts an initial organization: SUWAMA.
The response is almost immediate.
This seemingly insignificant detail marked the first decisive moment in the collaboration. Exchanges continued via email, then videoconference. Despite the distance and language barrier, the two organizations quickly discovered a shared approach to work and a common set of expectations.
Founded in 2008, SUWAMA operates throughout Suriname, focusing on waste management, biodiversity, water, energy, and education for more sustainable lifestyles. It already has extensive experience with organic school gardens, designed as spaces for learning, cooperation, and raising awareness about healthy eating.
The partnership therefore does not start from scratch. It brings together two organizations that work in different territories, but share the same conception of the garden: not just a space where one plants, but a support for learning, transmitting and acting collectively.
As part of Solidarity School Garden, CEDEFOG and SUWAMA are committed to reviving three educational gardens in Suriname, transmitting agroecological practices and promoting exchanges between the educational communities of the two territories.
A project that learns to adapt very quickly
International cooperation is not the only area where the project needs to find its balance. On the Guyanese side, the organization initially associated with the project was supposed to mobilize young people supported by child welfare services. However, the lead contact person, deeply committed to the initiative, left their position a few months later.
The change of contact person jeopardizes the continuity of the partnership. Lucile must then look for another solution.
The project was revived thanks to the Auguste Dédé middle school in Rémire-Montjoly, with which she had already worked. An educational garden was developed with volunteer students, and exchanges were organized with schools in Suriname. This readjustment, initially imposed by circumstances, ultimately opened a new educational dimension to the project.
This experience illustrates a common reality in community projects: partnerships are never completely static. The departure of one person can disrupt a dynamic, but it can also lead to the involvement of new stakeholders and a rethinking of activities.
Before starting the workshop, check the water, electricity… and the work
Lucile's existing knowledge of Suriname plays a crucial role. Having lived for several years in a Maroon village on the Guyanese side, she is familiar with some of the languages, practices, and realities of the Maroni basin.
But knowing a territory doesn't mean you shouldn't check everything.
Before organizing the main exchange session, she visits the site to scout the location and ensure that the logistics will actually allow her to accommodate the group. The building chosen for the accommodation is still under construction. The water supply, electricity, meal preparation facilities, and overall living conditions need to be checked.
Lucile also needs to find the right rhythm to keep her interlocutors engaged:
«"Not too early, otherwise it's forgotten; not too late, otherwise they won't have time to do it."»
This anecdote sums up a rarely seen skill: knowing how to observe the partner's timing and adapt one's own organization, rather than mechanically imposing one's work habits.
Four languages around the same garden
The highlight of the project takes place in Suriname, during two days of workshops bringing together people from very different backgrounds.
The discussion covers educational gardens, plant selection, agricultural techniques, as well as composting and dry toilets. Discussions take place in French, English, Dutch, and Sranan Tongo.
A member of CEDEFOG facilitates translation between French and English. Lucile draws on the linguistic skills she has acquired throughout her career. SUWAMA handles the exchanges in Dutch and English. When no formal translation is available, everyone searches for the right words, rephrases, uses gestures, and accepts that mistakes will happen.
Far from slowing down the encounter, this shared vulnerability quickly puts everyone at ease.
«"We had to speak four languages to build bridges. Everyone made mistakes, there was a lot of laughter, but we managed to understand each other. It was a real exchange, in a very simple way."»
For Lucile, this scene best embodies cooperation: people who do not always have the same codes or the same words, but who nevertheless find a way to build together.
Making gardens last after CORÉOM
The support offered within the framework of CORÉOM also plays an important role in the development of the project.
Initially, Lucile worried that regular meetings would become an additional burden for an association with limited human resources. However, they proved useful for monitoring the progress of activities, gaining perspective, and ensuring sound decision-making.
When certain expenditures in Suriname fall short of expectations, and other activities ultimately cannot take place, a portion of the budget remains available. With the technical support offered by the program, CEDEFOG considers how best to utilize these funds.
Rather than adding a one-off activity, the partners choose to invest in continuity.
An agreement has been drawn up between CEDEFOG, SUWAMA, and the Surinamese schools. It specifies the use of funds, the responsibilities of each party, the monitoring of activities, and the submission of reports and photographs. The local branch of the Surinamese Ministry of Agriculture is also involved in the process.
The scheme should allow SUWAMA to support schools and maintain the momentum of the gardens for two more years, without depending on the permanent presence of CEDEFOG.
The support therefore not only helped to execute the project: it allowed one to think about autonomy after CORÉOM.
Sending money to Suriname: a five-step process
Every cooperation also has its less visible behind-the-scenes aspects.
For Lucile, the main difficulty concerns the transfer of funds to Suriname. Accustomed to standard bank transfers, she discovers that no IBAN can be used to send the money directly to the partner's account.
The transfer will ultimately have to be completed in five installments.
At each stage, a new obstacle appears: bank card limit, maximum monthly amount allowed, network problem in branch, operation refused despite an increase in the limit, then a new online attempt with a specialized operator….The back and forth multiplies between the association, the bank and the transfer agency in Kourou.
This very concrete experience is now part of the knowledge acquired by CEDEFOG.
A visa obtained… a few days too late
Another action was to allow a representative from SUWAMA to come to French Guiana to meet with students from the college and several institutional actors.
The visa application process was initiated, but too late to meet the project's timeline. The document was finally granted just a few days after the scheduled meeting time.
In addition to this administrative delay, a family event definitively prevents the trip before the funding is finalized.
This episode offers a clear lesson: mobility between Suriname and French Guiana must be planned well in advance. Cross-border cooperation is based on reciprocity, but this reciprocity remains unequally accessible when partners are not subject to the same conditions of movement.
The end of funding, not the end of the partnership
With the closure of CORÉOM, the first phase of Solidarity School Garden is coming to an end. But the gardens continue to be supported in Suriname and the Guyanese college wishes to maintain exchanges with partner students.
For both CEDEFOG and SUWAMA, the project has helped to consolidate a relationship that could now be extended in other forms.
Above all, he showed that cooperation is not based on the absence of difficulties. It is built on the ability to overcome them together: finding a new establishment when a partner withdraws, checking accommodation still under construction, repeating a financial transfer several times, or switching from one language to another until understanding each other is achieved.
Between French Guiana and Suriname, educational gardens have produced more than just crops. They have created a shared space where knowledge circulates, differences become resources, and connections can continue to grow long after the program ends.