Moshi, TZ – Mwangaria primary school clearing the land to plant more banana trees to support their breakfast programme – 30 Jun 2022

Primary school students are clearing land and planting more banana trees. It is the next phase of the evolution of the school breakfast as it moves away from growing corn and beans on school land, and starts growing and selling bananas to purchase corn and beans when parents are unable to contribute sufficient from their own fields for the school breakfast. Its success is important because recieving a nutritious meal not only improves the health of the children in this rural school district, but encourages increased student attendance and attentiveness in class.

Local social enterprise Tupendane has been mentoring and assisting Kahe primary schools to develop a sustainable breakfast program for ten years. Sustainability is being worked towards by collaboratively simplifying growing operations and reducing costs at the schools.

Tupendane’s manager Deo has recently been working with the schools to design an easier and less costly irrigation system based on the new solar electric pump cart. The current fuel pump, used for pumping irrigation water, has been difficult to carry and install when used in the fields, has generated unhealthy exhaust fumes, has often needed maintenance, and incurrs increasingly high fuel costs. Deo’s dream is to continuously improve the new low running cost solution’s portability and daily water output.