Daniel Dolo is director of the school in the village of Kori-Maounde, Mali.  The school building was constructed in 2005 with donations from a French couple, and the government pays the teachers' salaries. There are about 200 students, some of whom walk several kilometers each day to attend school, in grades 1-6.  Neither Daniel nor the villagers had money to buy educational materials and school supplies, so Daniel came up with the idea of creating a school garden so that he could teach his students about gardening and at the same time they could earn money to buy educational materials by selling the produce. Because the school area is frequented by livestock that seek any edible greenery in the arid landscape, a sturdy fence was necessary to make a garden possible.  The Tandana Foundation provided a grant to build the fence.  Daniel and his students planted beets, lettuce, cabbage, sweet potatoes, green beans, cucumbers, watermelons, eggplants, banana trees, mango trees, papaya trees, and avocado trees.  The children take turns watering, using water pumped from the nearby well.  They are excited about their garden and have elected students to be treasurer, secretary, and salesman.

Women Worldwide and Adventures in Rock donated money to buy fruit trees and tools for the garden and to build a watering basin.  They also organized a group of volunteers who traveled to Mali to help.  In January 2009, volunteers, villagers, and children planted 54 fruit trees, dug a trench, laid a pipe, and created the watering basin, so that the children can water the trees more easily.  These improvements greatly enhanced the garden's productivity and ability to provide for the students' needs.  We have also provided training in how to care for the trees, and most recently, a motorized pump to facilitate watering.

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