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By Rebecca Brett & Lucy Liddle
In 2022 our amazing supporters raised £5,314 in the Big Give Green Match Fund Appeal to help purchase a coffee farm at Mango English Medium School in Tanzania.
Mango School was established by the community of Matekela village to provide quality nursery education, taught in English, to children living very remotely, high in the mountains near Mbinga, close to Songea. The school is supported by a local NGO called LESCOTA.
Coffee Farm Purchased in Mbinga, Ruvuma Region, Tanzania
Since the school opened in 2019, LESCOTA and the community have been fundraising and working hard to construct additional classrooms to allow the school to become a full primary school.
To help this growing school, LESCOTA asked COCO for support in purchasing a working coffee farm with 2,000 mature coffee plants which would provide a sustainable source of income for Mango School’s growing operational budget.
Thanks to our supporters, LESCOTA purchased the coffee farm in August 2022. The farm will produce its first harvest in May 2023. The team at LESCOTA are confident that the crops are growing well, predicting an income of up to £10,000 (30,000,000 TSh) from their first sales in December 2023 (after the beans have been processed).
Along with the income from its other income generation programmes, this will enable Mango School to operate on a surplus budget for the 2023 academic year, increasing the sustainability and quality of the education it can provide to its 170 students.
LESCOTA also plans to host workshops in partnership with the local Ward Agricultural Officer later this year, providing education in climate-smart practices and sustainable agriculture techniques to 50 local smallholder farmers which will help them to improve their yields whilst protecting their local environment.
Children studying at Mango English Medium School
We are delighted with the progress that has been made by LESCOTA at Mango School and we look forward to the harvest and the education it will support in the coming months. Thank you so much to everyone who donated to our appeal last year!
We will be taking part in the Big Give Green Match Fund Appeal once again from the 20th - 27th April 2023. This year, COCO are raising funds for the planting of drought resistant crops at Niaver CBO in Bwayi, Kenya. Kenya is currently experiencing its fifth failed rainy season - you can read about its devastating impact here.
Any support you can offer in April would be greatly appreciated. You can get involved by:
Donating to the appeal.
Telling your friends, family and colleagues all about it over a cup of coffee!
Liking and sharing our content on social media to spread the word.