Sowing seeds of hope

The Waste to Wonder Sustainability Cookery School

For over two decades, Waste to Wonder Worldwide has been turning surplus into opportunity. Now, we are taking our boldest step yet with the launch of the Sustainability Cookery School in The Gambia.

This pioneering project builds on the legacy of our School in a Box programme — which has already equipped more than 1,500 schools in 47 countries — and carries that same spirit of transformation into food, farming, and futures.

At the Cookery School, young people will gain skills in sustainable cooking, agriculture, hospitality, and tourism. Working alongside award-winning chef Conor Spacey and in partnership with the Global Orphan Empowerment Academy, students will learn to grow, cook, and create with what the land provides. They will graduate not only with employable skills, but with the confidence, dignity, and resilience to lift themselves — and their communities — out of poverty for generations to come.

Importantly, this school is more than a building. It is a living embodiment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, promoting responsible consumption, sustainable agriculture, and the power of local, seasonal ingredients. By teaching how to reduce waste and embrace a circular economy, it will help communities thrive while protecting the planet.

This is not just a cookery school. It is a legacy of hope, opportunity, and lasting change.