Toure knew that his province in Burkina Faso had one of the lowest schooling rates in the country, with only 31.7% of children attending school in 1999. Members of his community were small farmers, working in arid soil and extreme weather. Few, if any, had any savings to be able to afford the costs of sending their children to school. Toure decided to do something.

As a teacher in the local system, he came to realize that the real issue was that the beginning of a new school year was when the market price of grain was lowest. Parents were having to sell huge amounts of their grain at its lowest price to buy school materials and supplies for their children. Most farmers just could not afford it and many children went to school with inadequate materials, if they were able to attend school at all. After thinking through the problem, Toure came up with a simple solution. Why not exchange school material for a small amount of grain in September, store the grain, and sell it when the price is high?

He presented his idea to DABA, a small French NGO specialized in educational development in rural areas and named after a local farmers’ tool. The results have been encouraging. With the support of DABA, the local community established the “Songdo” School Fund which ensures that the children of farmers will not be denied access to education. Attendance rates in the community have been rising consistently, and there are ongoing efforts to teach this model to other communities.