Teachers TV: Sustainability A Lesson from Tanzania

The Edmund Rice Sinon Secondary School in the city of Arusha in Northern Tanzania is doing more than almost anywhere in the world to preserve energy, water and raw materials - on a continent that is doing the least to contribute to global warming. The school's herd of 15 cows not only provides milk but also slurry which is supplemented by what's deposited in a toilet block and channelled into a large underground chamber where methane, or biogas, is collected and then pumped to the school's three kitchens. Almost every drop of water is recycled: what goes down the plug in a shower and laundry block is pumped onto the playing field while washing up water is used to create a pond and swamp for science lessons. Headteacher, Frank O'Shea, his staff and pupils work hard to ensure nothing is wasted - sawdust from the carpentry workshop fuels another stove and even termite mounds are mixed with cement to build new classrooms.