2003 Expedition  

The background

As a geography teacher I have taught all about eco-tourism - the idea that tourist money helps local people and environments.

On a visit to southern Africa in 2000 I encountered what must be one of the best examples of eco- tourism anywhere in the world. Nestling within the tiny community of Malealea in "The Kingdom in The Sky", which is Lesotho, is Malealea Lodge. Run by Lesotho nationals, Di and Mick Jones, Malealea Lodge offers homely cooking, comfortable accommodation and guided excursions into the environs of the area.

Where this differs from most operations is that the profit from such activities is ploughed into the local community with amazing effect.

I am well travelled, having taken school visits to five continents including some disturbingly poor areas such as Kashmir and Bolivia, but this visit to a 3000 strong community in Malealea fired my imagination.

At Royston High School, with the assistance of some fantastically supportive colleagues, I have been able to do some amazing things on environmental issues.

Recycling lots of different things not only taught an important environmental message, it also raised cash! When I suggested to the environment group that this cash should be sent to Malealea to help build some new classrooms, they were all in agreement.

With the cash, we sent out letters of introduction. The letters we got back were stunning and began to open eyes.

In addition to recycling I have pioneered the use of wind and solar power in the school grounds. Royston has its own wind turbine and solar panels, which power a micro- river system. The notion of taking this technology to Lesotho through a school environmental expedition began to emerge.

Hundreds of hours later after, and after incredible community support, the Royston High School Malealea Expedition set off to Cape Town. Dragoman - overland travel experts - very generously looked after us and made our journey through South Africa up into the mountains of Lesotho (and back again), an amazing, trouble - free experience of a lifetime.

The Wind, Solar and Pupil Power Expedition of 2003

The seventeen - day expedition in May of 2003 was a hugely significant undertaking for all involved and for the two link communities of Royston in Barnsley and Malealea in Lesotho.

Sixteen pupils aged 15 years old, accompanied by four school staff a doctor and a nurse flew to Cape Town and journeyed overland to the mountain community of Malealea in Lesotho. Overland travel experts Dragoman assisted the group and provided transport, drivers and a wealth of local knowledge all at cost price! Our journey into Cape Town and through South Africa was extremely thought provoking but when we entered "The Kingdom in the Sky", which is Lesotho, things took on an all -together more personal feel. After a very warm reception at Malealea Lodge we quickly visited the High School to check on the installation of the wind turbine and solar panels. With the work on the renewable power system going to plan we set about discovering our surroundings. A walk to Botswela falls assisted us in gaining our bearings but it was the work alongside our Basotho friends that meant the most to us. I was acutely aware of the soil erosion problem afflicting the area and was very keen to plant trees when we came out. Molomo who helped us source both forest trees and fruit trees ably assisted us in this respect. An orchard was planted in the grounds of Malealea High School and hundreds of fast growing forest trees were planted to provide soil stability and a source of fuel wood. We were hugely privileged to work alongside the Tsinyane Learning Circle. This is a community group, which really is on the move! Community worker Gillian Attwood has fired them up and they are thoroughly empowered and determined to change their lot. Having identified that a lack of water is the major obstacle for them, they set about excavating a small reservoir a task that our expedition engaged on for two days. This was to prove one of the most enriching experiences of our expedition. Working alongside three generations of highly industrious, effusive and enthusiastic community members brought out the very best in human nature. Our doctor and nurse spent an afternoon in Malealea clinic where they observed the amazing Mahkhalisho at work. Through conversation with Mahkhalisho they identified what equipment would be practical for us to send out and a post expedition fund raising initiative made this so. After a brief but uplifting visit to Makatheng Primary School we went to the official opening of the High School electrification system. With representation from the British High Commission present The Chief of Malealea and myself flicked the switch and the lights came on and the computer buzzed into life. A photograph of the Mayor and Mayoress of Barnsley Mr Bill and Pat Newman and a shield with the Barnsley coat of arms was presented to the Chief of the village and the head teacher of the school. A mandatory game of football was undertaken with Lesotho one nil victors! A rematch is sure to follow this June!

Returning to South Yorkshire
The journey undertaken was not only in terms of miles covered. The eyes and minds of those involved had been opened wide. The challenge that now faced us was how to convey those emotions to people back home in our own community. All were encouraged (and at times hounded) to write down our emotions on the expedition and where possible write this up as poems. With the help of Barnsley Rotary Club and The Print Unit of Barnsley Council we were able to produce a small poetry book detailing our thoughts and emotions. A civic reception was held in Barnsley Town Hall for the expedition members and their families, but perhaps the most telling and poignant moment came when the now 16 year old pupils stood up in front of their peers and told them exactly what it was all about and how much this experience had meant to them.

A Change of Job / Extending the link!
In the autumn of 2003 I saw a very attractive job advertised in the national press in a large school in Sheffield. The post would be a significant promotion and very important to my career but I was not prepared to move if the new school would not embrace the link with Malealea. As it turned out The Headteacher and the selection panel welcomed this idea with open arms and I moved to The City School in Sheffield in January 2004 as Assistant Headteacher.

The Joint School Expedition of 2005
The Royston community were very keen to continue the link with Malealea and The City School community were being informed of what was possible. It was a very obvious decision to take that I should lead a joint school expedition to Malealea and that is indeed what has been planned for May/June of this year. The Expedition will be 40 strong, comprising 18 pupils from The City School, 13 pupils from Royston, 6 teachers and 3 doctors. The aim of the link is obviously very wide reaching and the Expedition will go along way to develop relationships, understanding and friendships. The Expedition will also have specific objectives. We clearly wish to follow up on the work started in 2003 with Malealea High School. We intend to bring or buy en route computers and TV video equipment for use in classes. We want to undertake a number of common DIY projects such as painting and renovating classrooms in The High School and in two of the local primary schools. We wish to work along side community members in preparing their plots for planting and to discover in true eco-tourist fashion the delights of this stunning environment! Our doctors would also like to work with Makhalisho the clinic nurse to explore ways in which we could work collaboratively to provide greater medical assistance for the community. We wish to explore with the community arts group the possibilities of marketing and selling some of their produce in the UK, not least to us when we are there!!!

The Future Vision
Through fund raising in our two UK communities we have committed ourselves to support 15 students to attend Malealea High School for the next three years. With the Malealea Development Trust and the excellent US Peace Corp personnel we are extending the electricity supply more extensively throughout The High School and into the teacher's homes. We hope the advent of telecommunications in the Malealea Valley will open up a new world for us in communicating with our friends across the world. Video and email not to mention telephone contact will make life so much easier and more immediate. It seems a very obvious extension of our link thus far to extend our involvement to teacher placements (in both directions) and eventually to bringing pupils from Malealea to South Yorkshire.

The City School in Sheffield is pursuing the specialist status in Business and Enterprise and this it is undertaking with a highly ethical stance. It makes very good sense to work closely with our friends in Malealea to bring a very pure form of fair trade to the UK market and in doing so increase opportunities within our link community. The link with Royston is more firmly established for obvious reasons and I feel sure the community would be receptive to arts and crafts from Lesotho.

Soil erosion and a sustainable source of fuel wood is also a concern and we have an on-going appeal to sponsor trees. We should also like to fund more fuel-efficient stoves.

I have also been working with a number of professionals on the issue of water within the Malealea Valley. EWB and RedR namely Engineers Without Borders and Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief have provided me with a detailed list of questions and we will endeavour to answer these in June. There seems a very good chance that an engineering placement could be secured for Malealea through these contacts.

In conclusion Di and Mick Jones have got a lot to answer for!!! Our work with Malealea has been brought to the attention of a very wide range of people from The Royal Geographical Society to the UK Government. Indeed just last week we got a personally signed letter from Gordon Brown which is now proudly displayed on our School website City School then follow Malealea link.

Communication is vital and face-to-face meetings irreplaceable. We will learn so much from our visit in June and go forward invigorated to work with our Basotho partners.

- Ken Dunn April 2005