Avele College was the recipient of agricultural tools from the Strengthening Multi-Sectoral Management of Critical Landscape project (SMSMCL) project this week.

School Principal, Matafeo Lesaisaea Reupena, acknowledged the project, saying the agricultural tools include basic equipment and seed packets.

 “The second set of tools are for another scheme under the same project which includes barbed wires, rolls of fence, picked axes, shovels, folks, watering cans, seed packets, wheel barrows, stable nails and other tools needed for the security of the project because more than one acre of land has been allocated for the expansion of root crops,” said Matafeo.

He said that negotiations for this project started this year around August.

Levaopolo Matai’a Faatonu, SMSMCL Technical Advisor, explained that the project works closely with communities in Samoa, involving more than 126 villages in Upolu, Savai’i, Manono and Apolima. 

“In the beginning, we worked with only communities but this time around we are looking at a new step to deliver our programmes out into schools.”

“Avele College is the first College.”

But it will not be the last.

 “We’re also looking at other colleges in Savaii to roll out a similar programme. The project ends in 2020 but at least if were able to have an input into the educational system, then we can ensure that there is that sustainability.”

Avele College is one of the few colleges that offers Agricultural Science as a core subject.