Beans Means Brains is a project run by Sustainable Communities Network (UK) Charity No. 1109945
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A school lunch programme to improve the education, health and life chances of Ugandan children
Sustainability - Long term
The long term aim is to make the programme sustainable from local resources - i.e. not dependent on money from donors.
Ideas being explored include setting up some business activity in the nearby town of Kabale, profits from which would be covenanted to the programme.
Another idea is the concept of a community farm, growing as much as possible of the produce that the school needs or more lucrative cash crops to provide an income with which to finance the programme. In reality, land is scarce in Kabale district so a farm may have to be located some distance from the school.
Our first task in this area of our work is to seek someone with the appropriate agricultural and/or business experience to help us explore the feasibility of the ideas we have had. Offers welcome!!
Additionally, we aim to use the experience gained at Buhumba as a model for other schools. Ours is the only lunch programme at any of the 305 government primary schools in the district and officials are keen to explore how the programme may be replicated - a far more likely proposition if it can be self-sustaining.
Maximising growing space
Kabale district is the most densely populated area in Uganda and land for growing crops is therefore at a premium.
Almost all of the forest areas have been cleared and most hillsides have been terraced to maximise the land available for growing food. Most agriculture is subsistence farming.