On March 18, 2015, USAID joined provincial and local authorities and more than 400 community members in Equateur province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to officially inaugurate the Ilima Conservation Primary School, a new model of public school which provides village members with educational opportunities and resources in exchange for the community’s participation in conservation activities.

Located in Ilima village in a remote part of the tropical forest in northwest DRC, the primary school used to be housed in a ramshackle building and it was difficult to attract the best teachers. The harsh climate also made building permanent infrastructure a huge challenge.

Funded by USAID’s Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE), the World Bank and the Nancy and Charles Wall Family Foundation, and under the guidance of the African Wildlife Foundation, community members built a new school entirely with local materials harvested from the forest. Community  members were trained and employed throughout the construction process, ensuring that they received the knowledge and skills to maintain the building and keep it from falling into disrepair.

The community received this help in exchange for its commitment and participation in land-use activities designed to conserve and protect the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba landscape and its wildlife species, especially habitat for the endangered bonobo.

Due to the rainforest climate of heavy rains and high heat, the new school building features a large suspended roof that provides extra shade from the sun and shelter during rains. The walls go up only two-thirds of the way to the ceiling to allow for unrestricted airflow. Catchments collect rainwater to be used for agriculture. The building offers six classrooms, two offices, a reading room, a space for kids to play, and a curriculum that includes conservation. Classrooms allow views of the forest, reinforcing the link to the natural environment.

Initially built for 220 students, the school now enrolls 320 students.