Field Visits

As our project is agricultural development for youth groups I thought it appropriate that I go out and meet youth groups and see what types of agricultural projects are being done here.

Kenneth was great enough to take me out last week (on his motorcycle) to Aromo where our project will be operating. It was a dusty hour long ride out there but in the end it was well worth while. We met with two groups, both youth groups, to discuss their needs with respect to agricultural projects. Youth groups form as a collective to work together. They are formal, registered, have a mission, membership lists and fees, secretaries, regular meetings and many go on to become active working groups that support each other and the community.

The first group was large and mixed of both men and women. Everyone here was under 26 (the definition of youth in Uganda is late 20’s). We met in the middle of the village and had a good discussion before moving on to under the Mango tree a bit of the way up the road

for the second meeting. It was a great opportunity for the community to tell me specifically what their needs were, and they were very good at expressing themselves and had many good ideas of how to improve things. In the picture below Kenneth is the one second from the left.

Then Wed it was off to visit a farmers group with Patrick. We first visited the field where they are cultivating orange flesh sweet potato which is a new crop for them here. Then we visited the 30 member group in the village (this farmers group were mostly older individuals,many handicapped) who have been formed for many years. They greeted us as we entered the village with a lot of trilling and very warm welcomes. I can certainly see how well loved these small NGOs are in the communities they help. We went to see their flour grinding machine and apiculture field. Then it was off to see his office where they have a seed/farmers store. There is even a provision for a bakery where they will sell products made from these sweet potatoes.

 

Thur John took me off to see a CBO, Community Based Organization (still really trying to figure out what the differences are) who are doing apiculture (they make a commercial honey in jars) and orange trees. The honey here is very dark and thick and seems to be a growing industry.

He offered me some dried white ants, i had heard of these, so I thought i should try them. sort of like dried soya beans, probably same protein content too. little sandy, could use some salt.

AND…. this weekend Patrick came back from Kampala with my Caustic Soda… 25Kg of it! Enough for 75 batches of soap.