A GROUP of young Sydney-based professionals have joined forces in a sustainable agricultural project in Africa by helping to establish a small farm in a Ugandan village.
This farm aims to provide sup-port for the local community and school.
It's part of The Manjeri School Project, an initiative with the aim of sustainable development and enhancing educational opportunities.
Focused on the Erinah Manjeri School in the Buikwe region of Uganda, the project takes a multi-faceted approach to supporting the school and the local village.
The project has helped to build infrastructure for the school, and is currently involved in sustainable development projects - including the establishment of a mixed farm - which will have the ultimate goal of reinvesting profits back into the school, allowing for a sustainable community.
The Manjeri School Project co-founding director Nick Harrington, Sydney, had travelled to Uganda on a gap year after school and came across "a tiny school with plenty of opportunity".
Yet at the time the school was also bankrupt and in the midst of a tough situation.
Mr Harrington said there was strong community spirit, however, and recognised the need for a strong local businesses - such as a farm - in which members of the community could be directly involved.
From then, a team of people was established in Australia which has now grown to about 15 volunteers for The Manjeri School Project.
Among the group are former agricultural economics graduates who are also working in agricultural careers in Sydney.
The establishment of a six-hectare mixed farm near the school forms a key part of this project.
The mixed farm is still in the development stage; it is set to include crops, an aquaculture operation and a high-quality goat enterprise.
"Not only will it generate income for workers, it will employ the local community and will feed the local kids," Mr Harrington said.
It will also serve as an educational tool for the students, so they may learn about sustainable agricultural practices, and then create something of a "ripple effect" where those students may grow up to become farmers themselves.
There are plans to install solar power, and to use fish effluent as fertiliser to contribute to the farm's sound ecological footprint.
The farm development project has been supported by various foundations including the Eureka Benevolent Foundation, The Ripple Foundation, The Mostyn Family Foundation, The Shirley Greathead Foundation and the McKinnon Family Foundation.
The school currently has 250 to 300 students, depending on the season, ranging from five to 15 years of age.
When Mr Harrington first visited the school there were about 200 students with three unpaid teachers.
Now the school has 15 qualified and paid staff.
He said it was important to improve the quality of the education, through finding good teachers and ensuring they got paid.
"When we first arrived there were two tiny classrooms, and now every kid has a desk."
So far, about seven purpose-built classrooms have been added.
He said there had been positive feedback from the community.
"Our model relies on the local people serving their local community," he said.
"It is a grassroots approach to sustainability."
The farm should be up and running by the last quarter of this year.
Half the team will be heading to Uganda in September.
Mr Harrington said the aim was to work hard with the community to ensure it had built up the necessary skills, so after 2018 the school could run independently and sustainably.
And after 2018, they are looking at potentially replicating that model elsewhere.
"We are now at the stage where we can see the big picture," he said.
