Nobody left behind
From the mountains of Uganda to the drylands of Kenya, our projects reach out to the groups society forgets, so that people and forests can truly flourish.
Working with people with disabilities
In Rwenzori, Uganda, people with disabilities often live on the edge of society. They face discrimination, isolation and exclusion, as well as economic barriers. Farming is difficult, and trading spaces like markets are dirty and dangerous, with no support for people with limited mobility.
But with your support, people with disabilities are making amazing changes in Rwenzori, transforming both their lives and the environment!
Elisha’s compound used to be barren and empty, but after just 10 months growing with Karambi, it’s overflowing with delicious fruits!
Karambi Group of Persons with Disabilities is a wonderful partner. They devote themselves to empowering groups and individuals living with a disability, so they can enjoy their freedom and improve their own quality of life.
Karambi loves to teach food production, especially permaculture - a sustainable, self-sufficient form of agriculture which copies how food grows in the wild.
It turns farms, gardens and compounds into rich, biodiverse spaces filled with multiple crops. It needs little labour, and produces tasty, nutritious food throughout the year.
Permaculture is ideal for many people with disabilities, who often struggle to grow or trade food.
After Fabis’ husband died, she was scared that she wouldn’t be able to provide for her family. But since working with Karambi, she’s become a confident gardener, trader and earner.
“Before I joined Karambi, I would fear how to feed the children, and I would leave them without food because the food was scarce.
“But now after gaining skills in permaculture, I am able to sustainably feed the children and myself on a balanced diet, and I can sell some food to get an income. And if I am empowered more and more, I will be able to do more agriculture and then sell part of the crops to pay for school fees and buy scholastic materials for the children.”
Now, Karambi has their own permaculture training centre, a one-stop shop for all sorts of community training!
People with disabilities come to learn here to learn a host of skills, including kitchen gardening, food forestry, fish farming and more.
Restoring the home of an Indigenous People
To the indigenous Batwa people, home means one place they cannot go – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.
For generations, the Batwa people lived entirely in the forest, relying on it for food and medicine. Yet when the government evicted them, they were given no provision for a new life outside of their home.
Jovans used to live safe and secure inside the Bwindi. Now, at over 80 years old, her job is to lead the women and girls, and make sure their rights as Batwa are protected outside the forest.
The Batwa people are some of the most marginalised in the whole of Uganda, but they are determined to find a way forward.
They want to restore “pocket-forests”, small, degraded areas of the Bwindi which they hope to call their own once again.
Even now, we’re scouting out potential sites for these new pocket-forests, and guiding the Batwa as they grow beautiful saplings from the seeds of precious Bwindi trees. One day, they will be planted in the forest, replicating the beauty of the old Batwa home.
The beautiful Bwindi Forest
However, the Batwa can no longer rely wholly on their forest for a livelihood. We’re running training to help them diversify their skills, from agroforestry to beekeeping.
"Women are not supposed to plant trees”
In some rural areas in East Africa, it’s believed that a woman cannot plant a tree.
That’s not what we’ve found!
Our communities are full of women who take to trees like a duck to water! It’s just cultural attitudes that say they shouldn’t get involved in planting.
We lead gender workshops and capacity awareness to show that women can and should plant trees, and once they get started, the community sees a massive benefit!
The Marsabit region in Kenya is seeing amazing transformation, as women plant trees to benefit their semi-arid desert home.
The problem of housework
In many rural communities, women can spend up to 18 hours a day doing non-paid work – cleaning, collecting firewood, cooking in smoky kitchens.
However, with an energy-saving cookstove, a meal cooks in just 30 minutes, only using two or three sticks of firewood.
That’s three or four trees saved per stove, and many hours that would otherwise be spent collecting fuel. Thanks to our partners and supporters, we’re installing these stoves across our projects, with hundreds already in use!
Now more women have time to pursue training, education, or an income-generating activity, whether that’s planting trees or starting a business.
Nyawira celebrates with her brand-new eco-stove
Battling period poverty
Girls have power to change the world. But in many areas of East Africa, they don’t get a chance to fulfil their potential. Teenage girls often drop out of school, embarrassed by their period.
They have no period products, and the girls suffer from strong stigma.
However, we’ve come together with our partners to train local women to make reusable sanitary pads, distributed for free to girls in secondary school, with special period education.
Since the project started, school drop-out rates have, well, dropped! As has absenteeism, meaning more girls are on track for a good education and a bright future!
With permaculture and pocket forests, eco-stoves and period pads, the forgotten groups of East Africa are fulfilling their potential, and transforming the world!