Planting complete · Mbale, Uganda
Supporting landowners in Uganda to establish Forest Gardens, helping to plant trees, restore degraded land, and provide sustainable income.
As is the case for the majority of farmers around the world, growing a diverse mix of crops reduces the risk of loss of income if a certain crop fails, for example due to drought or disease. Providing farmers with training and equipment to grow a range of crops helps protect their income should one crop fail.
The area surrounding Mount Elgon in the Eastern part of the country is heavily degraded due to deforestation and over-cultivation. The relatively high population in the area puts a strain on the land, leaving it almost bare, due to degradation from animal grazing, tree-cutting for fuel wood, and heavy mono-cropping of specific crops like bananas and coffee. The degraded land has also led to deadly landslides in the area which pose an acute safety risk to the nearby populations.
This land degradation arises as a direct clash between existing, damaging farming practices like monocultures (which exist often because they were historically imposed on the areas by colonial powers), and the wellbeing and needs of the local people and ecosystems.
Project notes from Ecologi, our planting partner for this site.
Planting Forest Gardens in Mount Elgon, Uganda
Mbale, Uganda
The Forest Gardens bring many benefits for local people, including access to nutritious food and additional sources of revenue. Farmers will use a method called intercropping which involves planting non-tree plants between the trees, including a variety of crops. Farmers are given a choice of crops to plant based on what grows well in the region, so they can grow food they want to eat and sell.
You can read more about Forest Gardens here.
Protecting existing healthy forest by reducing the pressures on it will boost native populations of wildlife. Additionally, Forest Gardens are designed to support native creatures, including pollinators, by planting the right trees and cutting out the use of chemical pesticides.
Forests are one of our planet's main components when it comes to fighting climate change. They are able to sequester carbon, acting as a carbon sink, so keeping them intact and healthy is paramount if we’re to make progress towards reaching net-zero globally. This project prevents deforestation of healthy forests by creating a sustainable and local source of fuel material, as well as increasing tree coverage on degraded land. Farmers who join the program will be taught to nurture their trees as living entities, since coppicing and pruning them will help the trees thrive and provide wood for fuel and fodder without having to cut them down.
Updates from the people planting it, newest first.
The farmers involved in Mount Elgon 5 have all now graduated the 4-year programme. We toured several Forest Gardens, and each one is a unique creation designed by the farmer who owns it. The 7 layers of growing, which maximise productivity, were clear to see, as well as groundworks that conserve water and protect soil.
The farmers involved in Mount Elgon 5 have all now graduated from the 4-year programme. We toured several Forest Gardens, and each one is a unique creation designed by the farmer who owns it. The 7 layers of growing, which maximise productivity, were clear to see, as well as groundworks that conserve water and protect soil.
We heard about Lydia Akumu, a farmer involved in this project, and how her Forest Garden has impacted her. Lydia is is 35 years old and has 10 people in her household to feed. She started with 2 trees on her plot and now has 2,115. She was growing one food crop and now grows 7 food crops and 12 plant species.
The most recent of the 532 trees planted here for somebody's pet.
Every tree on this site still stands and still has its page. New trees go to the sites we plant now.
