The Diocese of Worcester has teamed up with Warwickshire College and the AGCO Apprentice Academy to send a tractor to a village in Tanzania.
The Massey Ferguson 265 tractor is being worked on by students to improve it inside and out before being sent to the village of Tunguli.
The Archdeacon of Worcester, Roger Morris said the tractor would be used to cultivate around 200 acres of land around the village. Proceeds from the sale of produce will be used to transform the local clinic into a proper medical centre.
It will also be made available to a local cooperative to enable villagers to farm their own plots of land and use the profits from selling their produce to maintain the tractor.
Mr Morris said: "When I visited our link Diocese of Morogoro in Tanzania, I was struck by how simple things that we take for granted are not available, but could make the lives of people there so much better."
The tractor will be worked on by students doing the Intermediate and Advanced Apprenticeship at Warwickshire College.
Course tutor on the Land Based Service Engineering, Tim Hutchinson said it would be a great opportunity for them to gain some hands-on experience.
"The first and second year students will do the mechanical repairs and the third year students will do a range of diagnostic tests to ensure the final result is as good as we can possibly make it," he said.
"We're also planning to link with some of our motor vehicle and welding and fabrication students to help improve the tractor's body work. In a little over a year, the tractor will be in much better condition and will be ready to be sent to Tunguli."
It is hoped that the tractor will be ready to send to Tunguli within 18 months.
Tony Linfield, Apprenticeship Training and Regional Development Manager for AGCO in the UK said: "We are delighted to be able to support this project. We like our apprentices to get as much practical experience as possible, with machinery that might be encountered when they work in our dealerships. So this will certainly benefit our students as well as making a real difference to the lives of the villagers in Tanzania."
