Solar power and farming revive Tunisia school as social enterprise - in pictures

An innovative project has allows one college to become self-sustaining by generating its own solar power and growing its own food

Pupils gather in the playground of the Makhtar boarding school before returning to class on September 29, 2022, in the Tunisian central-west region of the same name. - The Makthar boarding school, a unique business initiative is both generating income and opening pupils' minds to the outside world. Lotfi Hamadi, founder of the NGO "Wallah (Swear to God) We Can", is hoping that helping schools boost their resources through food and energy production can breathe new life into Tunisia's failing, cash-strapped education system. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)

Entrepreneur Lotfi Hamadi (left), 46, founder of the 'Wallah [Swear to God] We Can' non-profit group set his sights on the school, south-west of the capital and close to his parents' hometown of Kesra. 'I wanted to take what works in the business world and turn schools into social enterprises,' said Hamadi. 'We are not trying to fill the gap left by the education system but to compensate them a bit, teach them to learn, give them the curiosity to open up to the world.'

Mr Hamadi started a decade ago by gathering donations to buy 50 solar water heaters and 140 photovoltaic panels that produce four times the power consumed on site. By selling a third of the surplus back to the national power company, the school could pay back money owed to utilities and fund site improvements and extracurricular activities. The remaining extra power is distributed for free to three other nearby schools.

Last year, Mr Hamadi's group launched Kidchen, a farmers' co-operative that grows vegetables on about eight hectares of nearby land.

While some produce goes to the school canteen, 90 per cent has been sold since this summer, with the profits helping to pay for school activities. Kidchen is staffed by six school parents, formerly unemployed, and an agricultural engineer, who receive stable incomes and a share of the equity and dividends.

Mr Hamadi said better schooling is urgently needed in the country, which has endured years of political instability and economic woes since the revolution. The situation now is a far cry from the era of Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia's first president after independence from France in 1956, who strongly promoted primary education.

Initially the Arab uprisings inspired hope of greater social and economic rights, but today '75 per cent of pupils leave primary school without being able to write two sentences', Mr Hamadi said. 'The education system has been suffering since the revolution ... because every government has caved in to pressure from the unions.'

As a result, more than 95 per cent of the ministry's budget goes to paying staff salaries, leaving little for maintenance, schoolbooks and teacher training. About 100,000 pupils drop out of the Tunisian school system every year, and many parents, worried about low academic standards in state schools, opt for expensive private tuition.

Chayeb, the chief farmer, said the Makthar model had helped his family and given his children better school meals and activities ranging from business skills and foreign languages to robotics and drama. 'Before, I was a seasonal worker on five or six-month contracts, always somewhere different,' he said. 'Now I work near where I live.'

Former pupil Chaima Rhouma, 21, is now studying law with a view to becoming a diplomat. She said the project had completely revitalised the school, replacing a garbage-strewn yard with a sports field and garden. Literature, theatre and cinema clubs had filled her with 'good vibes', she said. 'I've become more curious, I'm always looking for new things. Here you can study by having fun.'

The school has gained a reputation in the region and there in high demand for places, with 80 children now on the waiting list, said its director Taher Meterfi. Meanwhile, Mr Hamadi is forging ahead with his next project — a largely organic 40ha farm project to supply the city's 23 schools with energy and food for about 3,500 pupils.

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