Moshi, TZ – Harmonious co-existance assisted by strong fence around a school’s Grow-own-Breakfast garden – Apr 2024

Co-existence with the local community and crop protection are key factors we consider for our Grow-own-Breakafast (GOB) programs in primary schools below Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Protection of our GOB gardens, water supply infrastructure and facilities in the Kahe schools needs conflict resolution skills and a solution in order to achieve effective co-existence with surrounding societies of farmers and livestock keepers.

Maendeleo Primary School Children have recently been successfully building their best GOB garden of vegetables and banana trees for sometime, since the enchroachment on their gardens by both human and livestock population growth in the area. Over the last year the GOB program stopped at Maendeleo Primary School because donkeys destroyed all the garden and some of its water supply infrastructure.

Tupendane designed a solution to the problem and requested a grant from Better Lives for improving the Protection and Operation of the garden by building up a proper intensive fence able to stop strong donkeys and other animals in the area. This fence is designed to avoid conficts between the school and livestock owners, so everyone can live in harmony. The fence has brought back the children’s joy and raised their attitude back to what it was before their garden was wrecked. They have started a new garden which is growing up well for future harvests.

Tupendane has learned from this Maendeleo Primary School experience, and is investigating which schools expect to face the same challenge to their GOB garden in the future.