Community Development Programs
Lighting Up The Track
In 2012, the Foundation has embarked on an exciting new project called Lighting Up The Track. The Foundation recently delivered a solar light to every adult living along the Kokoda Track – a total of 3,500 lights! Solar lighting has enormous benefits to communities and help to alleviate poverty, improve health, and enhance educational opportunities for young children.This project has provided remote communities with a vital source of light that is making an enormous difference to the livelihoods of villagers. >> Click here to read more about Lighting Up The Track >>
Koko Community Hall
In October 2011, the Foundation embarked on an exciting initiative, building a Community Hall in the village of Koko. The community hall is being used for a range of purposes including a homework club for students attending one of the four schools in the Kokoda area, a travelling and outreach library, teacher training, and microbusiness training. In early 2012, the hall was used for our Teacher Training Program where we graduated 56 new elementary teachers. >> Find out more about the Koko Community Hall >>
Village Agriculture and Food Security Projects
In 2012, the Foundation is continuing to support village agriculture and food security projects after the success of its Northern Province Food Restoration Program, which was established after Cyclone Guba devastated the Oro Province in November 2007. These projects assist local communities in restarting their food gardens with improved and more robust crop varieties and new planting techniques and enable villagers to grow food in water-logged soil. They are targeted at areas that are flood prone >> Read more about the seed-multiplication nurseries and the impact of these projects on communities >>
Disaster Relief
The Foundation responds to disasters as they happen in our catchment areas including flooding and cyclones in the volatile Oro Province. As recently as January 2012, the Foundation has responded to severe flooding that has submerged the food gardens of thousands of villagers. The Foundation arranges the delivery of rice and tinned fish to hundreds of villages during the crucial periods when their food gardens are submerged and can't be accessed. >> Discover more about how we have responded to disasters >>
Krappers For Kokoda
In 2012, the Foundation is continuing its “Krappers for Kokoda” project, installing eco-toilets in schools and villages along the Kokoda Track. The Foundation is installing 6 new eco-toilets in three primary schools along the Kokoda Track. These toilets protect the waterways along the Track and provide the communities with an improved sanitation facility. They also provide gender-specific sanitation options for students studying in the remote schools; which has led to increased female enrolments. >> Read more about this exciting project >>
Sustainable Tourism Plan
Immediately following the formation of the Kokoda Track Foundation in 2003, the Foundation funded and prepared a Strategic Plan for Tourism for the Kokoda Track. The plan focuses on the environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects of tourism development and was completed in 2006. The Foundation is partnering with key groups to ensure appropriate implementation of the plan and to ensure that local communities benefit from the growing trekking industry. >> Click here to read more >>