Our Mission
The Challenge
Only 40% of children in rural Ghana are able to continue with their education after primary level. That leaves 60% who find themselves stuck in the cycle known as the ‘Poverty Trap’.
The problem is exacerbated in rural communities where people rely almost exclusively on subsistence farming and agriculture, which often means an income of less than $2 per day.
If they can afford to at all, children from rural areas are often discouraged from going to school after primary level, as they are needed to work and bring in money to feed their families. Those that are able to complete their studies at secondary school will generally go straight to the cities to work, leaving a problematic lack of educated young people in rural areas.
Our Solution
Our mission is to develop a model for self-sufficient schools in rural Africa by using commercial farming as one of the tools to generate annual running costs. By incorporating our farm and its methods into their formal academic curriculum, we hope that our students will be encouraged to think of opportunities for employment in the rural location they are from. Through the teaching of subjects such as Home Economics, Science and Business, we aim to show that there is a possible practical application of their studies, and a future for them in their own community.
We are also working to introduce an out-growers scheme, which will enable some of our wider local community to grow and market more produce, thereby increasing their income too.
Our Approach and Our Values
To design and implement a model that requires an initial capital cost investment to develop a sustainable school and farm.
To ensure long-term financial self-sufficiency without reliance on donor support.
To provide a comprehensive and well-rounded education for our students, many of whom would otherwise not be able to receive a secondary education at all.
To combine a formal academic education with practical farming skills and agricultural experience, thus contributing to the development of rural communities in Ghana.
To increase rural food security.
To place local staff and civil society at the centre of project management, and to work closely with the community to develop and adapt methods that work for them.
To recognise the importance of the skills and experience of the local community, and to incorporate the community wherever possible.
To work with our local agri-businesses to create and consistently develop more sustainable and ethical farming methods.
To support fair and ethical trading between local subsistence farmers and larger corporations, and increase the local market.