Seedbank Ugandan Refugee Farmers
Donation protected
Marius Ziganira is a man on a mission. An agronomist refugee, he plans to restore the degraded farmland of the Nakivale Refugee Camps, Uganda, so that it can sustain the large and growing population of refugees who live there.
Nakivale is a complex of 74 villages housing about 140,000 refugees and 35,000 Ugandans. Many of the refugee are widows trying to live and feed their family from farming on denuded soils. All are coping with physical or psychological traumas related to the violent incidents they fled.
Uganda's welcoming policy towards refugees, by providing plots of land for farming and housing, has not been able to withstand the damaging pressures on soils, trees and water, from both an increasing refugee population and the climate change related unpredictability of the weather creating crop failures.
With the assistance of Australian collaborator, Owen Allen, Marius has started a program to rebuild the soil, improve agricultural including establishing a seed bank of robust varieties, teach ecological agriculture methods, and provide climate resilience.
Successful farmer seminars and the first phase of developing a seed bank has shown the potential of the concept. At the behest of the Ugandan Government, the UMOJA Community Foundation has been formed that, apart from Owen Allen, has a board , administrative and technical team of significant education, capacity, and experience from among the refugee community.
In the near term, the goal is to:
* procure enough seeds for crops to provide food and develop a seed bank of stable seeds to expand the access to seed to more and more farmers;
* gather enough tools (we are talking hand tools like hoes and machetes) to provide for the family-based work force and,
* with help from the international community, to train the farmers in sustainable methods to build soil fertility.
Funding goal $USD20,000 or ~ $AUD29,000Nakivale is a complex of 74 villages housing about 140,000 refugees and 35,000 Ugandans. Many of the refugee are widows trying to live and feed their family from farming on denuded soils. All are coping with physical or psychological traumas related to the violent incidents they fled.
Uganda's welcoming policy towards refugees, by providing plots of land for farming and housing, has not been able to withstand the damaging pressures on soils, trees and water, from both an increasing refugee population and the climate change related unpredictability of the weather creating crop failures.
With the assistance of Australian collaborator, Owen Allen, Marius has started a program to rebuild the soil, improve agricultural including establishing a seed bank of robust varieties, teach ecological agriculture methods, and provide climate resilience.
Successful farmer seminars and the first phase of developing a seed bank has shown the potential of the concept. At the behest of the Ugandan Government, the UMOJA Community Foundation has been formed that, apart from Owen Allen, has a board , administrative and technical team of significant education, capacity, and experience from among the refugee community.
In the near term, the goal is to:
* procure enough seeds for crops to provide food and develop a seed bank of stable seeds to expand the access to seed to more and more farmers;
* gather enough tools (we are talking hand tools like hoes and machetes) to provide for the family-based work force and,
* with help from the international community, to train the farmers in sustainable methods to build soil fertility.
YOU ARE INVITED TO MAKE ANY CONTRIBUTION. EVERY SMALL DONATION COUNTS. PLEASE CONSIDER A REGULAR MONTHLY CONTRIBUTION.
There are fees associated with GOFUNDME. Owen has taken it on as part of his contribution to pay all fees so that your contribution will be passed on in full.
A BIG THANK YOU FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY CONTRIBUTED WHICH HAS ACTIVATED THE SEED BANK PROJECT>
For more information see website
Organizer
Owen Allen
Organizer
East Barron, QLD