Growing Education
Growing Education Beyond Donor Support
Through the MARTHA HASS INVESTMENT FUND, we are developing a more sustainable way of financing long term support for children. Instead of relying only on recurring donations to cover school fees, meals and healthcare, we create an individual investment fund linked to each child.
Donor contributions are directed into a Hass avocado investment during the first 3 years, corresponding with the period required for the trees to become established and begin producing fruit. Once production starts, income generated from avocado sales is intended to contribute towards the child’s education, healthcare and meals. The purpose of the MARTHA HASS INVESTMENT FUND is to connect educational support with a productive asset that can generate income over time. As the avocado trees mature, proceeds from commercial production can contribute to recurring costs throughout primary and secondary education and, where returns are sufficient, continue towards university studies. This gives each child a longer term source of financial support while reducing dependence on continuous fundraising for the same expenses.
For donors, the fund changes educational support from an open ended monthly commitment into a defined contribution period linked to an income generating agricultural asset. The initial 3 year investment is intended to create a financial base that continues working beyond the contribution period, allowing support for education, healthcare and meals to be planned over a longer horizon and financed through the performance of the underlying Hass avocado investment.
Why Hass Avocados?
The Hass avocado was selected as the underlying agricultural investment because of its commercial value, productive lifespan and suitability for long term cultivation. Hass is the leading avocado variety in international trade and is valued for its high oil content, quality, consistency and strong consumer demand. Its post harvest characteristics also support commercial distribution, storage and export, providing access to markets beyond local consumption.
Each acre accommodates approximately 140 to 150 Hass avocado trees. Once fully mature, an individual tree can produce approximately 300 to 400 kg of fruit annually, giving a potential total production of approximately 45,000 to 60,000 kg per acre per year under favourable growing and management conditions. The productive capacity of the orchard therefore increases considerably as the trees mature, creating an agricultural asset capable of generating recurring income over an extended period.
The first 36 months represent the establishment and growth period of the orchard. During this time, contributions finance the development of the investment while the trees progress towards commercial production. The first harvest is expected around the third to fourth year, after which income from avocado sales can begin contributing towards the costs assigned to each child through the MARTHA HASS iNVESTMENT FUND. As production develops, the agricultural investment is intended to provide a continuing source of financing for school fees, meals, healthcare and further education, linking a defined initial contribution period with an asset capable of producing income for many subsequent years.
How does the MARTHA HASS INVESTMENT FUND work?
Support a child for 3 years instead of 18 years
Supporting a child through primary school, secondary school and university can require financial assistance for close to two decades. Through the MARTHA HASS INVESTMENT FUND, we are changing that model. Instead of asking a donor to continue paying throughout approximately 18 years of education, we ask for a monthly contribution of €215 for only 36 months. During those first three years, we invest the contribution in establishing a productive Hass avocado asset linked to the child. The donor commitment then ends, while the agricultural investment continues generating income for the years that follow.
Your total contribution for one child: €7,740
€215 per month × 36 months = €7,740
At the same nominal monthly contribution, supporting a child for 18 years would amount to €46,440. Under the MARTHA HASS INVESTMENT FUND model, the donor contributes €7,740 over three years, and we then use the income generated from Hass avocado production to continue financing the child's needs through the remainder of the education cycle.
You contribute for 3 years. The avocado investment supports the years that follow.
During the first 36 months, we establish and develop the agricultural investment while the Hass avocado trees grow toward commercial production. The first harvest is expected around the third to fourth year, with production increasing as the trees mature.
From Year 4, the financing model shifts from donor contributions to income generated through avocado sales. We will use the net revenue associated with the child's investment to cover school fees, school uniforms, books, stationery and other school supplies, meals and nutrition, healthcare, secondary education, university tuition and other education-related costs through university graduation.
Projected net revenue from Year 4
Based on the current financial model, the projected monthly net revenue available from the avocado investment develops as production matures:
Year 4: UGX 248,000 per month — approximately €55 per month, or €660 per year
Year 5: UGX 688,000 per month — approximately €152 per month, or €1,830 per year
Year 6: UGX 1,250,000 per month — approximately €277 per month, or €3,324 per year
Year 7: UGX 1,250,000 per month baseline — approximately €277 per month, or €3,324 per year
Years 8–20: UGX 1,250,000 per month baseline — approximately €277 per month, or €3,324 per year, with future values adjusted for inflation
The euro equivalents are approximate and based on the current exchange rate; we will review future-year values as exchange rates and inflation change.
Projected agricultural revenues are based on current production, pricing and operating assumptions and are not guaranteed. Actual results may vary with yields, market prices, climatic conditions, operating costs, inflation and exchange rates. NAMBI FOUNDATION will review the financing model periodically and adjust programme planning accordingly.
Why the model changes after three years
The donor is not simply paying school expenses for three years. The purpose of the first 36 months is to create the productive asset that finances the child's future costs. Once the orchard begins commercial production, avocado sales replace the donor's monthly contribution as the continuing source of support.
This means that instead of repeatedly raising money for the same child's school fees, meals, supplies and healthcare every year, we create a revenue-generating agricultural investment designed to finance those costs over the long term.
What the avocado income covers
From the income generated after commercial production begins, we will finance the child's school fees, uniforms, books, stationery, school supplies, meals, healthcare and other essential educational needs. As the child progresses, the same financing structure continues through secondary school and university, with the objective of supporting the child through university graduation.
The underlying principle is simple: the donor finances the investment for three years; the investment then finances the child's education for the years that follow.
From sponsorship to long-term educational security
Traditional sponsorship depends on a donor continuing to give year after year. If the donor stops, the child's support may also stop. We are building a different structure.
Through the MARTHA HASS INVESTMENT FUND, the €7,740 three-year contribution creates an income-producing asset. The Hass avocado trees continue growing and producing after the donor contribution period ends, and we use the resulting revenue to meet the child's recurring educational and welfare costs.
The fund therefore converts a limited period of philanthropy into a longer-term financing mechanism: three years of donor support instead of approximately eighteen years of repeated contributions, with avocado revenue supporting the child through school and onward to university graduation.
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