Esna, Upper Egypt
The Esna Farm and Community Centre is our largest single project — a working farm with date palms, citrus groves, vegetables, a dairy operation, and egg production. Designed to give two hundred families consistent, dignified agricultural work. A companion education programme, Brighter Future, runs alongside it.
How we got here
Esna sits on the west bank of the Nile, about fifty kilometres south of Luxor. It is not a place that appears in tourism brochures. The land is fertile — the Nile sees to that — but consistent work has always been hard to come by. In 2022, Thanksgiving Australia began developing what would become the Esna Farm and Community Centre: a fully operational agricultural project designed not as aid, but as employment. The farm grows dates (both Barhi and Medjool varieties), citrus, seasonal vegetables, and maintains a small dairy herd and egg-laying flock. As the trees mature and the operation scales, the farm is designed to sustain approximately two hundred families — not through handouts, but through wages, skills development, and the quiet dignity of productive work. The Brighter Future programme runs in parallel: educational support for the children of farm workers and the wider Esna community, funded by TGA donors. The local partner on the ground is The Little Flock Foundation — an Egyptian-registered charitable organisation under the Ministry of Social Solidarity.
The Little Flock Foundation
Egypt Ministry of Social Solidarity Register 7612/2009
A registered Egyptian charitable organisation based in Cairo, delivering community development projects across Upper Egypt with deep local relationships and institutional knowledge of the Esna region.
Programmes in Egypt
Each programme is delivered alongside our local partner — The Little Flock Foundation.
Esna Farm & Community Centre
A working farm producing dates, citrus, vegetables, dairy, and eggs — designed to employ two hundred families at full scale.
- Date palm groves — Barhi and Medjool varieties planted across multiple feddans, with first commercial harvest expected as trees reach maturity over 4-7 years
- Citrus orchards — oranges and lemons for local markets and potential export
- Seasonal vegetable rows — providing fresh produce for the local community and income through market sales
- Small dairy herd — milk production for the farm community and surrounding households
- Egg-laying flock — consistent protein source and supplementary income stream
- On-site training — agricultural skills development for farm workers, building capability that extends beyond the farm gates
Brighter Future Programme
Educational support for children of farm workers and the wider Esna community — funded by TGA donors.
- After-school tutoring in core subjects — literacy, numeracy, and English
- School supplies and uniforms for enrolled children, removing barriers to attendance
- Scholarship pathways for high-performing students to continue into secondary and tertiary education
- Community literacy classes for adults, particularly women in the farming community
On the ground in Esna, Upper Egypt
Your gift supports families in Esna — through dignified work, education, and a future built from the ground up.
Thanksgiving Australia Incorporated (ABN 13 696 899 427) is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient under Item 1. Gifts of $2 or more are tax-deductible in Australia.
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