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.