About 780 students attend the Ngapani L.E.A. school, situated on Sable Farm's Ngapani estate. The majority of the students are children of Sable Farms workers.
"Ngapani community, which forms the major part of Sable Farming Company Limited, is located in a very isolated area. ... The community struggles to meet all its needs in-house. Despite all these difficulties, it has a culture of sustainable farming," said Sarij James, Deputy General Manager at Sable Farming Company Limited. "The community is committed to growing coffee as this is their sole livelihood."
As Traumann was sourcing coffee from Sable Farms, she learned of the need for renovation at the decades-old school.
Last year, Starbucks helped fund a project that made several improvements to the school.
In the past, clean, safe water sources were far away from the school, causing students and teachers to drink from nearby streams and increasing their risk for waterborne diseases. The project created a new water distribution system, providing a clean water source.
The project also improved three teachers' houses by repairing floors, walls, doors, windows and the roofs. The houses were also painted. Sable Farms said prior to the renovation, there was low morale among the teaching staff, causing some teachers to leave their job in search of better working conditions.
"There has been a change after the completion of the project in that no teacher has left from the school apart from a transfer," James said. The school has a total of eight teachers and four newly recruited teachers are expected to join, according to James.
Lastly, the project helped repair several school buildings and the girls' hostel, which accommodates a few dozen students.
James says the students, teachers and broader community have expressed their appreciation for this project. We're honored to have played a role.