Kilimanjaro, TZ – Parmiter’s School students bring new projects to Lishe Bora Garden Shop – 11 August 2015

For one week at the end of July students and teachers from Parmiter’s School in England volunteered with Lishe Bora Garden Shop on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. The twelve students and two teachers worked shoulder to shoulder with shop employees and local families.  However, their efforts began long before they reached the mountain.

For the last two years the students have been fundraising to pay for their travel and project expenses. This means that the physical labor the students contributed to the projects was matched by the work they did to raise funds for the tools and materials used to complete the projects. The students organized talent shows, Tanzanian themed dinners, and discos, in addition to putting in long hours at after-school jobs like tennis coaching and babysitting.

To maximize learning opportunities, students were responsible for every element of their in-country experience. Their first project task was purchasing tools and materials. The group met Better Lives and Lishe Bora team members in Moshi. After a brief planning session, students jumped into the hectic but exciting task of purchasing project materials in Moshi. By 4pm a two-ton truck was fully-loaded with a range of supplies including pick axes, toilet seats, lumber, buckets, and food. A long and exhausting day finished by arriving at the campsite just as the sun setting behind Mount Kilimanjaro.

Over the next 4 days students followed a strict schedule to complete as much work as possible. The day started between 5:30am and 6:30am and students left camp by 8am to start work on projects by 9am. This work schedule paid off as the students made great progress.

They finished all but the last 6 roof panels of a “Happy Pig” pig pen. The pig pen is designed to enable pigs to root and burrow, cool off, and eat an organic diet. The robust pen was built as both a best practice example and an engine to enable more families in the area to begin keeping pigs at home.

The students also built a cow shed. The shed is a best-practice design which includes a storage area for grasses, feeding trough, and run-off collection for manure. The shed can hold up to three cows. Chaggas, one of the tribes that lives on Mount Kilimanjaro, have been keeping cows for over 1,000 years and their cows are some of the most productive in the country. Creating sustainable shelter for these animals is an effective way of helping families improve their health and income.

The final construction project the students took part in was building the first “Easy Latrine” style toilet on the mountain. The project was an adaptation of IDEO’s Easy Latrine and is a low total cost of ownership latrine design for families. The latrine was built at the home of a Lishe Bora employee and the team is developing a marketing plan to help other families in the area build these toilets.

In addition to construction projects the students also built 3-bed organic vegetable gardens with families. They built three new gardens, which means three new families are now members of Lishe Bora.

The group stayed fueled for their work by enjoying some of their favorite foods with local twists. They ate pizza cooked over an open fire, local doughnuts with chocolate sauce, and even roasted a whole goat one night!

On the final night the group prepared a feast for community members. Everyone came together for a party which allowed the community to show their thanks for the students’ efforts and allowed Lishe Bora to share the features and benefits of the new pig pen and toilet design.

After the students left for a safari and beach day they still had one big surprise in store for Lishe Bora. At the end of the trip all of the students decided to donate their remaining money to Lishe Bora! They donated close to 2,000,000 TZS (US $1,000). Better Lives, Lishe Bora, and Parmiter’s School are planning a close collaboration to decide upon the most impactful use of the funds.

We are all grateful for the efforts of the young men and women of Parmiter’s School and look forward to welcoming them back to Tanzania!