Coffee Industry News

Coffee Seedlings to Raise Money for Classroom

A school’s goal to build its own double classroom is gradually unfolding as students work tirelessly to nurture and sell coffee seedlings.

Matona-Tairo Primary School in the Obura/Wonenara District of Eastern Highlands Province began their venture on coffee nursery in the year 2008.

According to headmaster, Mr Resby Gahuno, there is a need for a central nursery in the area to supply coffee seedlings to farmers.

“There is a lot of suitable land available to grow coffee but there is no
nursery to supply the farming communities. The remoteness of Matona
makes it difficult and costly for people to travel long distances on rugged road conditions to get coffee seedlings,” said Mr Gahuno.

In 2008, the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) Ltd presented the school with 10,000 poly bags to start off. Students do practical work on the coffee nursery during their classes of the Making a Living subject and during work parade periods.

“Matona-Tairo Primary School was an ideal central location in the area for the establishment of a nursery and so we set out to do just that with the help of CIC,” explained the headmaster.

“My students have been very enthusiastic about the coffee nursery and it has been a good learning experience for them. I just hope that some of them would utilize the skills they have learnt to start their own coffee nurseries where they live,” said Mr Gahuno.  

The nursery has the potential to raise K5,000 towards the building of the classroom. The seedlings are sold at 50toea. One thousand five hundred seedlings have already been sold. K25,000 supplied by school subsidies have already been used to purchase building materials.

Upon their efforts, CIC has again presented the school, this time, with a full nursery set including, a tuffa tank, fencing wire, polythene bags and shade cloth.

“Rural schools like Matona-Tairo Primary School have often been forgotten by the system and left to tend for themselves, so we are trying to do something for our school and the community,” expressed Mr Gahuno.

School Board Chairman, Mr Kukaro Yonuka, is also supportive of the classroom project and hopes that CIC would work closely with the school in providing technical expertise.

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Updated: May 17, 2010