Loos for learners
A compost loo is the best way to keep these children healthy. This means that they stay in school and they pass their exams - they have a brighter future.
We are a social enterprise that runs five primary schools in one of the poorest countries in the world - Sierra Leone.
Our sustainable, ethical rice farms generate funds that are ploughed back into the schools. We provide free education for nearly 1,000 children to the very best standards in the country.
The schools have loos but they aren't the best for the children or the environment. We want to give them some swanky,environmentally friendly loos that they can feel happy to use.
The toilets will last about eight years and be used by hundreds of people. They are cheap and easy to run, and the compost produced can be used on the farm as fertilizer. It's a perfect balance with nature.
And it is free to run.
That makes a huge difference to the lives of a lot of people for a long time.
What We Need & What You Get
- We need $2,000 for each loo, which buys the foundations, the structure, the compost and bacteria to start the process
- $500 will pay for the foundations of the loo
- $200 will pay for the structure
- $100 will pay for the roof
Impact
When our founder Rocco Falconer was 20 years old he went to Sierra Leone on his gap year in 2008. Whilst there he built a school. Although it was rather ramshakle he soon had 100 children arriving every day.
When he returned home, he fundraised at university and soon had a brick school. He realised that the income had to come from the local area so he leased derelict land from the community, hired an agricultural manager and started our first rice farm. Now we educate nearly 1,000 children for free.
Sierra Leone is at the bottom in the UN Human Development Index in 177th place out of 186 countries. We run five primary schools providing free education to nearly 1,000 children.
We have seven farms in the area that employ the community and all the proceeds are poured back into the schools.
All the kids sit the national examination at the end of their schooling with us and our pass rate is well above the national average
We are a registered charity in UK and also a registered education CBO by Sierra Leone government.
Other Ways You Can Help
- Please host your own twinning party, invite a celebrity and take some photos, open a bottle of fizz. We would love your loo to be twinned with ours.
- You can help by sending this link on to anyone you know with a loo and they might twin their loo with ours.
