Mt Kilimanjaro, TZ – Rollins College students help Lishe Bora develop Eco-Lodge and campsite – 15 Jun 2017

Students from Rollins spent a week living and working with Lishe Bora on Mt. Kilimanjaro. They focused their efforts on helping Lishe Bora develop its demonstration farm and eco-lodge site in preparation for the arrival of high school students later in the summer. Over the course of the week the students build two toilets, a wood-fire oven, and a grill.

Each of the projects was new for Lishe Bora. This presented lots of opportunity for students to use problem-solving and creativity side-by-side with local builders. For many students, this was their favorite part of the trip.

“I really liked how we were able to get right into the projects,” said one student, “Once we learned about Lishe Bora and Better Lives we got to just start the project work. It felt like we were really a part of the process and we were solving new challenges instead of being told what to do.”

In addition to the new infrastructure, students also provided improvement ideas for future groups. For example, they recommended organizing a local coffee farmer to give a coffee-processing tour. After the students left Lishe Bora organized this in preparation for the next groups.

These small first steps will have a big impact on students camping at the farm this summer. They also represent “breaking ground” on the future of the farm and eco-lodge.