Farm School Zambia
Finding Inspiration in Every Turn
Six years ago I set out on a journey - to advance quality education in rural Zambia, serving communities that face daily challenges accessing education, healthcare, and food security.
Today, I wonder if initiatives like ours may be of greater relevance to urban populations than the rural people we are serving! While they have long adapted to hardships, urban societies now stand on the precipice of disruptions unprecedented in modern history; and we are poorly equipped for it!​
The achievements of modern civilization have come at a cost we can’t afford any longer! Perhaps we have been too distracted to see the warning signs. Maybe like the frog in the pan of water with gradually increasing temperature, we keep adjusting to gradual changes? We know what happened to the frog. The warmth was comforting for a while - until the temperature became unbearable! Realization came too late. Powerless to jump out, it perished in the pan!
Consider this: each year, deforestation erases over 10 million hectares—an area the size of Germany or Poland. It takes 200 years to produce 1cm of the Top-Soil which sustains 95% of all food crops, and it is vanishing 100 to 1,000 times faster than it did before the industrial era! In July 2023, UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared, “The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived. Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning.”
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Sure enough, 2024 was the hottest on record!
The crisis is far deeper when we consider the erosion of our physical, emotional and spiritual environments. Relationships are becoming superficial, fragile and distorted. Stress, anxiety and restlessness are the new-normal. Extreme loneliness, excessive materialism, and addiction to digital devices have reached epidemic levels. The very fabric of society is in tatters. It can’t be mended. A fresh vision must be explored. It is time to build the proverbial Noah’s Ark again!
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Global economic uncertainties are another symptom of a failing system. Current statistics indicate that over 70% of North Americans will face severe financial distress if they are out of a job for a few months. If the world’s biggest economy is so fragile, should we not question the very framework of modern development theory?
The greatest stimulus for a total reset is probably coming sooner than we thought, ushered in by the unstoppable tsunami of Automation and Artificial Intelligence! Employers, manufacturers and service providers dare not hesitate to replace humans. If they do, they are replaced very rapidly by those who will.
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None of us chose these disastrous by-products of development. How did we get here, and whose agenda was it in the first place? Small gestures—tree-planting, community gatherings—are meaningful, but they are not enough. A patient in intensive care needs more than bandages and vitamins.
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The urgent need is to reimagine and co-create vibrant, harmonious, equitable, and prosperous communities!​
Most of the so-called experts today are obsessed with the notion that robust economic growth will solve all our problems - as if the only path to human happiness is consumerism, and destruction of our planet through unsustainable and destructive manufacturing processes! Slavery under the market-economy has to end. The urgent need is to create environments that nurture the true potential of every individual and community, and promote joyful collaboration as opposed to vicious competition.
Glimmerings of hope are shining through various initiatives around the globe – often very modest at first, but gradually gaining in momentum and experience.
One such initiative, FarmSchool Zambia, is striving to gain insights and experience in building vibrant, harmonious, and sustainable communities. We believe the essential framework for human happiness and prosperity is fairly universal and consistent across rural and urban neighborhoods. Lessons learnt here could have implications for communities anywhere, be they rural or urban. Inspired by the pioneering work of the FUNDAEC foundation in education and community development over the last few decades, we are striving to apply proven models of transformation in a few rural, and semi-urban settings of Zambia. We have been walking this path in collaboration with a few agencies and core groups of individuals committed to the similar goals.
In 2002, FUNDAEC’s core program was hailed “the greatest revolution in education of the 20th century” and received the “Change the World – Best Practice Award.” The United Nations recognized its impact on sustainable development in 2008, 2011, and 2017, and influence of its programs continues to be amplified through communities worldwide.
Source ?
FarmSchool Zambia, a project of Kay Development Ltd., is a family initiative—limited in resources, but
committed to its vision and objectives.
Our Five Year Vision
Our five year Vision is to establish a vibrant, interconnected network of about 20 community learning centers (CLCs) within a 7km radius, where every member in a community is accompanied on a path of lifelong learning, action, and reflection in various fields ranging from pre-school education, tutorials, literacy, healthcare, agriculture and technical education.
The first cluster of about 20 CLCs is to be supported by a College-in-Your-Community (CYC), bringing
higher education within reach of young people, especially the girl child—an opportunity currently available to fewer than 5% of rural students in general.
The CLCs are designed to be financially self-supporting. To achieve this, every center is allotted a five-acre agricultural plot, supplemented by shared resources, training, and ongoing support. The centers also train and support families in the communities to gain experience with self-sufficiency.
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As of June 2025, we have secured land to support 20 centers and two CYCs.
Five centers serving about 8 villages are at various stages of development already.
Success of this initiative depends to a large part on our ability to attract members from the wider community to share in its vision! If you are able to sacrifice even an hour a week, we can coordinate to make sure your efforts bear wonderful fruits.
Location is no barrier—a lot can be achieved remotely.
Volunteers who wish to come and serve with us here in the friendly country of Zambia, would be welcomed with open arms!
Financial Outlook:
Developments of the last five years has been possible through our personal savings and a family loan. As you can imagine, this is a very limiting factor. To continue expanding—build infrastructure, provide student materials, train teachers on a regular basis
— financial assistance is crucial.
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Yet, we are cautious about traditional funding and grants. We would rather invest in the power of community. We hope to develop an expanding community of empathetic supporters, each setting aside just $10 a month. I believe the act of giving sacrificially, and being emotionally invested in a cause has far greater potential for long-term growth than reliance on grants from funding agencies. If you are enthusiastic to assist this movement, perhaps you may be inclined to increase your monthly contribution. Instead, I would like to suggest you tell one or two friends about it.
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A monthly news-letter subscription of $10 USD through our sister agency, Virtues First, Inc (USA) simplifies the process.
Weekly updates on progress of the various CLCs, and CYCs will soon be available on our website, a hub for volunteers to connect, consult, and collaborate. For enquiries, information, suggestions, or offers to volunteer, we eagerly await your communication at farmschoolzam@gmail.com.
We hope to walk this exciting journey together with you.
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Our Journey is one!
With hope and determination,
Team FarmSchool, Zambia
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