Tchibo supports schools in Africa through CmiA

Together with the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), German retailer Tchibo
is involved in the Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) initiative that has been
committed to expanding the school infrastructure in the rural areas of
Africa for several years now.

In two of the world’s poorest countries, Benin in western Africa and
Zambia in eastern Africa, school projects are literally blooming, making
sure that the children of African cotton farmers can go to school – still a
rarity and privilege for many African children.

Schools not only offer education but also clean drinking water, warm
meals

In Benin, that means that more than 750 children benefit from five newly
built school buildings equipped with solar energy, 66 newly constructed
school cafeterias, school libraries equipped with 10,000 books and 20,000
locally produced school uniforms.

In Zambia too, the children of African smallholders enjoy five newly
built schools. In addition, each school complex is equipped with its own
borehole, ensuring clean drinking water not only for the school children
but also for the surrounding communities. Five additional school buildings
are expected to be completed by mid 2015. As is the case in Benin, the
school gardens not only provide the children with nourishing meals but also
teach them the basics of sustainable farming in a playful way.

One of the children benefiting from the initiative is 13-year-old Mary
(pictured above), daughter of one of the African smallholder farmer growing
CmiA cotton. Only recently she started visiting one of the newly built
schools in eastern Zambia. A short film (see below) shows her and Hannah
from Germany at school. Even if Hannah and Mary seem different at first,
their school life is similar and equally important for both.

Tchibo offers an array of weekly changing consumer goods including many
items of clothing. Since 2008, the company has increasingly relied on
“Cotton made in Africa” cotton and is one of the world’s largest buyers.
With every purchase of CmiA products, customers directly contribute to
improving the living conditions of smallholder farmers and their children.
About 70 percent of the processed cotton at Tchibo will come from
responsible sources (Organic, Organic Blend, CmiA, Better Cotton Initiative
i.a.) this year.

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