The problem
In the village of Yéviépé, the school career of many students often ends involuntarily after six years. While attendance at the six-grade elementary school is free of charge, school fees of around €13 per year plus money for textbooks and exercise books are charged at the secondary collège. Many students cannot afford this.
The approach
The students who have difficulties paying their school fees come to the GAVISA farm every Friday after school and help out. They weed the beds, help with watering and harvesting. And they learn useful things: how to make compost, how to grow different kinds of vegetables, and how to make a natural insect repellent from the leaves of the Nim tree.
For two years now, they have had a section in the farm’s garden where they grow, harvest and sell their own vegetables. The proceeds go into the students’ self-managed school fee fund.
Our contribution
Since the income from vegetable sales is often not enough to pay the school fees for 26 young people, we have agreed with GAVISA to contribute the missing amount – so that no young person in Yéviépé has to drop out of school due to lack of money.
The GAVISA farm was founded in 2012 by Komla Zivi and other supporters from Togo. Thanks to taking good care of the soil, biodynamic cultivation techniques adapted to local conditions and the tireless efforts of the association members, the farm is growing and thriving. Since 2019, the farm is officially recognized as a training farm for organic and sustainable agriculture in Togo.
Seed-stable, high-quality seeds are indispensable for sustainable smallholder agriculture. For years, the GAVISA farm has been breeding and preserving old and new seed varieties that are best adapted to local conditions. The aim of the seed project is to improve the access of smallholders to seed and to further develop and regionally disseminate cultural techniques of seed multiplication.
The farm GAVISA Togo has a beautiful location – on a high plateau near Kpalimé, near a mountain river.
Unfortunately, the farm has lacked an overnight accommodation for visitors and guests. According to the GAVISA Togo team, this was particularly unfortunate, as the farm is located in a region that is attractive to tourists, and the project could use more public visibility and income from overnight guests.