Change must start from the roots

Ndurutu village; Kenya and Hamburg Germany are separated by thousand of miles but united together in a common love for coffee. The community in Ndurutu produces amazing coffee, and the community in Hamburg sells a load of coffee. It is our work to tell this coffee story as fully as possible and support this farming community to rebuild their lives.

The Ndurutu Primary school is situated at the end of a dusty road in the village sorrounded by small scale coffee farms and only 200 metres from the Ndurutu Wet mill. Last year , through our partnership with Nicole & Heinz of Sandtorkai Handel Papenhagen, we shipped 30 tonnes of green coffee to Germany from this community.

Arrival of 15 tonnes of green coffee in Bremen- Nicole ready to receive this amazing coffee

Ndurutu Primary; I sigh....Years ago i attended this school, like me and the Kedovo gang, the children of the coffee producers from the village know no other place. Far from Kenya's capital, most of the families here still have limited acess to basic services and often cannot afford to pay the stipulated school fees set out by the Board. The Kenyan education system has had significant progress since 2003 when the Kenyan government introduced a legislation for Free Primary School, enrollment increased but it brought with it a major infrastructural problems especially in the rural areas, which unless tackled in a holistic Approach will not be ending anytime soon.

To all the People who believe in our coffee, let us not let these children live in the ruins of broken dreams...

All you Need to do is Purchase coffee from my People ;)

Our goal is to supply you with the very best quality coffee. But how do we guarantee this, if our producers cannot afford the basic necessities of life? How do we guarantee this when their children get rained on inside their classrooms? How do we create sustainability and harmonize the relationship with our producers when their children' s school has classrooms that are unsound?

Its out of these concerns that we started the project -Renovation of Ndurutu Primary. What could be better than coffee and giving the children of our coffee farming families a great and functional school?? Renovating this school is giving a much needed hope to a struggling community. Changes must start from the roots.



Ndurutu Primary School

Classrom

classroom

The school has a total of 11 classrooms , a meeting hall and 3 rooms which are used for adminstration purposes. The kitchen is in an unsound state and currently only used for the preparation of meals for the teachers. By renovating the school, we bring an amazing impact to the demoralized children and give this community's young generation a chance for social and economical development. By starting at the roots, we give these children chances in the ever developing world, chances to dream and improve the lives of this coffee growing community.

And our work began....

KEDOVO e.V Meeting the deputy head before the onset of the project

learning aid in class ECD - made from old jute bag

inside one of the classrooms

Survey & Planning

The Roof of the classrooms

discussions on way Forward- the Meeting hall

School kitchen

class ECD & 1, where our Project will begin

class 2 & Meeting hall-

And so.....

We started the renovations in December 2015, and so far we have finished renovating 3 classrooms and the meeting hall.

The project would not have been possible without the support of Bingo Projektförderung Schleswig Holstein, and on behalf of my people our sincere thanks.

Time and time again i get frequently asked why these children? Why this community? You have to understand- am one of them, i am a daughter of a coffee producer, their pain is my pain- they are my people. Growing up in our small farm, life was difficult- i can tell you its much harder now than it was for these coffee producing communities. They have absolutely no backup- no publich health insurance, no fully free public schools, if you cant pay for something upfront and in cash, you dont get it at all!

And the gang got down to do what we do best....changing lives through economical coffee production and community development.

And everyone got down to work

 

Fixing of new window and doors




Discussing with our Partners in Jan 2016



The Education for Sustainable Development project is so important to us at KEDOVO e.V, we know we are working for a change, we are restoring dignity and giving my people opportunities- opportunities to afford basic necessities. I believe the economic stability of these coffee producing communities begin when they are given chances and knowledege resources to make a livable income----this we can do by making sure Change starts from the roots..

and our work continued...

my mind..a thousand miles! will i be able to sell enough coffee to Support this community? I worry..

welding of new doors

Arrival of new School desks

sneak Peak ;)

Handing over the classrom to the Management & the Board of the school



Davie of KEDOVO organising the ECD class to move to their renovated classroom

The renovated ECD class

 

with our Team! well done guys!!

 

handing over 2 of the finished classroom to the chairman of the school- Mr George Karia

Yes we did it!!! Zackie handng over the 2 renovated classes to the Mangement Board

This community is dependant on coffee. Nothing else....unless me and you make coffee production sustainable, their economic and social effects will always be affected. My father turned 65 last year, to him and the rest of the aging community in the village, coffee is their lives, they have nowhere else to turn. They are filled with sad memories of struggle and exploitation. The village is faced with thousand of challenges, from increased poverty to a lack of interest in coffee farming by the youthful generation. There is a lot at stake...
And we continued renovating the classes...

James of KEDOVO Volunteers after a day of hard work

some of the parents helping in the renovations

And we came together as a community

Our model ensures that the children of our coffee Producers remain at School. My father believed that the answer to our poverty situation was through education. He still believes to date that education is the long term key and answer to poverty eradiction.Me and my siblings grew up knowing that education was the only means we could later use to overcome our situation. By giving these children chances beyond the farming villages of The Aberdares is the only way we can break the cycle of poverty and guarantee my people a different 'coffee story'

An excited headteacher & the chairman of the Board meets with the gang

handing over the next class

why would a German sweep classes in Kenya? -Because he believes in our work



class 2 settling in their renovated modern classroom

remember this class ;)



I believe......

remember the ECD class with the jute bag? ;)

All over the world more than 4 Million small scale coffee producers live below the poverty line, Ndurutu is amongst them.It is important to practice ethical practices that provide greater economic benefits to coffee Producers.
Lets give their children chances to higher education, chances to see the world

To Nicole and Heinz, our gratitude is beyond words. Without your partnership, this would have been so much harder.And i believe together we will still continue changing lives. To all of you who Support our coffee Project wholeheartedly; Erika, Kira, Manuel, Reinhold, Connie, Christian, Daniel, Stefan, Jonas, Ulrike; just to mention a few, your work is not in vain. Asanteni sana.

Hall before

the hall after the gang descended on it ;)

the renovated Meeting hall

renovated hall & class 2

the finished renovated wing

To continue supporting these communities we have on offer Green coffee (Rohkaffee) from Ndurutu Wet Mill F.O.T Bremen, transport within Germany & the EU arrangable at a cost. Please contact Soni Schneidewind or Nicole Boedgter for information on samples, prices and contract.

For roasted Chania coffee kindly purchase from our Online Shop or visit our offices in Kaltenkirchen. Visit the shop & Cafe 'Ein Welt Laden' located at the VHS in Kaltenkirchen , am Kretemoor 40, or pass by at our stand at the Kaltenkirchener Wochenmark every Saturday from 07:00 hrs to 12 noon.

and our work continues.....