In refugee settlements, people do amazing things with very little. No matter how limited the resources, simple items are transformed with incredible creativity; plastic bound together becomes soccer balls, while metal bikes are repaired with wooden poles. Innovation is everywhere, and the greenhouses are no exception! Water is one common problem in Uganda that calls for a creative solution. Without a centralized irrigation system that allows for the crops to be easily watered, it can be difficult for farmers to take care of all their plants equally. In the most basic system, farmers will haul water from the nearest water source — a lake, borehole, or the like – and water their fields by hand. To solve this problem, some local farmers came up with a creative solution. Instead of individually hauling water, they created small water reservoirs with tarps that could catch rainwater and water funneled from other sources. So, we decided to get all four of the greenhouses tarps that … [Read more...] about It’s a Tarp!

To run a successful business or cooperative, it’s important to keep your finances are in order, especially when you’re working and sharing with others. Many of our changemaking efforts — including the greenhouses — involve combined finances, where a group of people works together and pools their earnings. However, sometimes these groups don’t have a safe place to store their money or financial documents. To encourage better bookkeeping and meet a security need, we decided to buy each of the four greenhouses their own safety deposit box. These boxes provide each of the groups a set place to store their combined earned money and accounting documents. Prince, the chairperson of the Juru greenhouse, had positive feelings about the finances of the group and welcomed the additional support. “This area did not previously have a market," he explained. "But because of this project, our community has been able to open a small market. So far, the money we have gotten from here, we’ve … [Read more...] about Savings, Savings, Savings

One of the hardest challenges for farmers to tackle is preventing pests and fungi from growing in their fields. Although tiny in size, these critters can have a huge impact on the security of a person’s food and livelihood. Lucky for us, a combination of methods can be used to prevent the spread of pests and fungi. And while the farmers will often use creative methods to deal with these issues, sometimes fungicides and pesticides are necessary to save their crops. Therefore, and in order to complement their new seeds and fertilizers, we provided all four of the greenhouses with pesticides and fungicides to use when other methods aren't quite cutting it. These small solutions will make a big difference. Last year, the greenhouse in Juru estimates that they lost approximately 6,000 USD worth of crop from drought, insects and animals. Carol assists with ARC programming in Nakivale and Oruchinga and could really imagine the difference this would make. “Last year, the … [Read more...] about Putting the Fun in Fungicide

As any backyard gardener or long-time farmer knows, we can plant as many seeds as we like, but they won’t grow without proper nutrients, water, and sunlight. Places like Nakivale and Oruchinga have sunlight down – crops grow there all year long — but this continued use means the soil takes quite a beating, nutrient wise. To solve this problem, we got all four greenhouses foliar fertilizers to accompany their new fruit and vegetable seeds! Foliar fertilizer is liquid, and it’s applied directly to the leaves. The plants absorb these essential nutrients directly through their leaves to grow bigger, stronger, and to produce larger yields. The farmers at our greenhouses were excited to receive the fertilizer. With limited access to manure and almost no access to other fertilizers, the foliar fertilizers will supplement what they would use and help them grow more to eat. Monica, a long-term member at the Juru Greenhouse, has already felt the effects of this community and is … [Read more...] about Feeding the Leaves

Uganda’s climate is perfect for growing ripe, tropical fruits — mangoes, jackfruit, oranges, passion fruit, pineapple, and so much more. But at the greenhouses we’ve been working in, the bounty is usually limited to vegetables. Vegetables provide many essential nutrients, but the farmers and their families lack regular access to nourishing, delicious fruits. Yesterday, we were able to provide dozens of farmers with the vegetable seeds they needed and wanted. But today, we focused on fruit! The greenhouses had a limited selection of fruits—a handful of papaya trees and a large guava tree were planted recently, but not everyone has access to these trees. We supplemented these trees with fruit seeds for all four greenhouses, so that everyone can enjoy a sweet and healthy treat. Many folks at the greenhouses were especially excited about planting watermelon and passion fruit; both remind them of being at home in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where these fruits thrive. And … [Read more...] about Passionate about Passion Fruit

No matter how dedicated a person is to a farm or garden, it’s impossible to plant anything without seeds. And in places as remote as Nakivale or Oruchinga, it can be tricky to buy seeds – especially if you’re hoping for a wide variety of options. So, while visiting our four greenhouses in Uganda, we made sure to ask the farmers not only what seeds they most needed, but what they especially missed from home, too. Many of the workers are refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which means they typically make do with the food available in the settlements. When we asked them what food they missed from their lives back in Congo, faces lit up as spoke of beets, carrots, yams, garlic, ginger and cauliflower. The groups had already been busy growing tomatoes, eggplant, onions, bell peppers, corn, and sorghum, but they missed familiar foods. We decided to source a huge assortment of seeds — we found all the plants they were already growing plus seeds of the plants they so … [Read more...] about Planting Seeds of Change

It’s hard to reap a bountiful harvest with only poor, tired soil to grow in. The folks at Nakivale’s four greenhouse learning centers know this well. But lucky for us, the solution to depleted soil is easy and au naturel. Today, we visited one of the greenhouse learning centers, where the space and its surrounding grounds have been used for months to grow fruits and vegetables that the residents can eat. But the greenhouse is good for more than just nutritious food — most importantly, it’s a learning center that teaches people how to cultivate their own gardens. Unfortunately, all this learning and growing has taken a toll on the soil in and around the greenhouses. The land isn’t as lush as it once was — even during the wet season — and it needed some revitalization. We decided to bring the team here a hefty pile of manure, produced by some local goats living in Nakivale! Not only were we able to help this greenhouse get the necessary nutrients it needed, but we were able … [Read more...] about Revitalizing the Soil

A sense of community is important to all of us. Sometimes it’s community created by the family we grew up in, and sometimes community comes from our chosen family. In Nakivale Refugee Settlement, it’s easy to find small, tight-knit communities. One is a group called Courageous Women. They were founded by 15 women with the simple yet powerful goal of supporting one another, of being there for each other. Many of the women are single mothers, were orphaned as children, or are a part of the albino community. Each of these groups have dealt with their own difficulties, but they’ve decided to come together - to get through the tough times together. When we arrived, the group welcomed us quickly into their tight-knit community. We all met in a shaded meeting location they had constructed for the purpose of accommodating community members with sensitive skin. Josiane, the chairperson for the group, talked to us about her idea to help the group – ducks. “Rearing ducks is a … [Read more...] about Getting Our Ducks in a Row

Most businesses begin with a little start up fund—something to rent out a store front, buy the materials you need, pay the staff. But especially in places as remote as Nakivale Refugee Settlement, residents don’t have access to these types of materials. In Nakivale, we seek out groups that might have a harder than average time accessing funds and opportunities to start or grow a business. Our team focuses especially on helping socially-minded businesses - from using your time to train single mothers or giving youth something to do. Today we met with an entrepreneurial group our team knows well. We’ve been scheming of ways to help them for a while. Today, we're making our move. This group is especially aimed at helping people with special needs. While a disability might be able to prevent them from labor-intensive farm work, they’re able to make ends meet by specializing in things like shoe-making and mending. We helped gather all the things they needed to kick start … [Read more...] about It’s a Shoe In

Food insecurity doesn’t have to do solely with access to food itself — sometimes, it’s caused by an unstable income. On our journey to promote stability, our next stop was to a collective of tailors to see what we could do to support them. These tailors live in Rubondo and are distance away from many other income-generating activities, so instead of asking them to come to us, we came to them! And when we went, we brought sewing machines with us. The center of this community was a neighborhood square, with children running around, elderly sitting in chairs, and calves and chicks wandering through picking at grass and lost seeds. In an unassuming building on the South side, we peeked our heads in to meet some of the women being trained in tailoring by the collective’s leader, Jean. When we spoke with Jean, he told us the direct impact these sewing machines we brought would have: “We are using the machines to sell clothes such that the women can make enough money to meet … [Read more...] about Tailor Made