Feed the Future Project Completed

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This project constructed a water pump at a local sustainable teaching farm, greatly increasing its production and training capacity. The pump allowed the farm to have year-round access to water, so that it could grow fruits and vegetables to provide to school lunch programs throughout the region. This project helped students to reach their full potential by providing nutritious and balanced meals in order to properly learn. The project is a collaboration between the Rotary Clubs of Philadelphia and Dapaong, Togo, West Africa.

Pump construction allows year-round access to water

The farm’s name — Permaculture Institute for the Study of Communal Economic Systems (PISCES) — is a teaching farm in Northern Togo dedicated to the application and improvement of sustainable agricultural techniques. The organization currently owns ten acres of land and are working on creating an organic oasis in the Togolese savanna.

The training farm has also been able to offer more trainings, more consistently throughout the year. More community members have been trained in reforestation, environmental stewardship, and sustainable agriculture. The teaching farm is also planning to partner with several of the schools who offer free lunch programs in order to help them establish organic kitchen gardens at their own schools. This will increase the capacity of the schools to grow their own vegetables and provide further opportunities for training teachers and students in sustainable agriculture.

Funding for the project was made possible through the Southeastern PA District, the Rotary Club of Philadelphia and the Rotary Club of Alexandria (Virginia).

PISCES is now working on writing a global grant to support a Rotary Club in Togo to provide additional trainings in sustainable agriculture, small-enterprise development, and community livelihoods.

Rotarians Kerime and Didier from Dapaong, Togo, West Africa