Currently, student meals are prepared in a community constructed temporary cooking area. The walls are made of sparse timber slats, the floor is mud, the roof is sloped metal sheet, and cooking is done done over open stone firepits. The current open cooking area is subject to flooding and mud during the rainy season which causes disruptions to feeding the 710 students. There is no protected storage, so it is difficult to keep firewood dry and to protect food and sanitation supplies.  Additionally, the amount of smoke generated in this small cooking area can cause eye and respiratory diseases for the community cooks. Students are served their meals in the open next to the kitchen and a cloth is draped to prevent too much smoke from affecting the children.

Karimu will work with the community on the construction of an enclosed kitchen to serve Arri Primary School. The new kitchen will create a functional cooking area and secure, clean, and dry storage for food, supplies and firewood. It will include areas for cooking, preparing and serving food, a pantry, and dry storage. 

Planning with the Arri community to identify all contributions to the project has been completed. They will collect and deliver stones, sand, and brick blocks for construction of the foundation.  The community will come to the site to dig the foundation for the kitchen when the construction begins in October 2022. They will also provide a cash contribution towards project costs.

Karimu will complete drawings for the kitchen, identify and survey the location for the kitchen on school property, secure funding for the project, hire a construction team and monitor the project construction to its conclusion. The kitchen will also include new fuel efficient stoves 

After the final inspection and opening of the new kitchen, Karimu will do regular inspections of the kitchen for the 6 months after construction is completed to ensure there are no material defects as the contractor is responsible to repair any defects at no cost to the project during this time period. Once this 6 months is up, Karimu turns over the monitoring and maintenance responsibilities for the kitchen to the school and community. The full turnover sometimes takes time as the school and community become accustomed to a new process. Karimu monitors building maintenance and proper maintenance is a prerequisite for ongoing investment in community projects.

Benefits:

• Daily meals for the 710 students of Arri Primary School year round without interruption due to weather

• Community space for meal preparation for local meetings and events held at the school by the community

• Improved sanitation and the safe food handling, preparation, and serving of meals from the school kitchen

• Improved student health and well-being as a result of regular school meals and safer food handling and storage facilities

• Improved health and well-being for community cooks through a reduction in cooking smoke currently causing smoke-related diseases

• Safe and secure food storage of maize and beans which ensures that the supply provided by parents is available throughout the school year

• Conservation of resources by reducing the cost of firewood by more than half due to the use of fuel efficient stoves. Additionally, with the use of more fuel efficient stoves, the amount of deforestation is reduced and the environment will be better protected.

Total Project Cost: $31,592.26

• Karimu cost: $25,533.04

• Community cost in labor, materials and cash contribution:$1,076.59

• Grant from the US Embassy, Tanzania: $5,000