While there are a few  ‘important’  people in these villages who may own quite large stretches of land, and have a herd of cows as well as matoke plantations (green bananas) , the majority struggle from day to day to make ends meet.

They are likely to have an acre or so of  land that was passed down from father to son, and getting smaller with each generation that passes. Their challenge is that although in places they have better medical facilities so fewer children are dying and the elderly are living longer, there has not been enough education with regards to limiting family size!

On their land they grow the bananas trees which are their staple diet, together with beans, ground nuts and some greens or cabbages. Millet is also grown and processed at home but the posho (maize meal) is generally purchased from a local supplier. Fruit is available cheaply when in season ( hence my request for funding for a solar drying system ) Meat, Fish, Rice and  Spaghetti  are all available but there are a rare treat for many.

Fruit Drying

Farmers tend to have all their crops ripen at the same time, thus causing the prices to drop, but they have no facilities such as freezers for keeping them. A few miles away there are a number of  groups using fruit-drying cabinets and these fortunate growers have been trained to make and use these solar dryers by a company called ‘Fruits of the Nile’  This company has a contract to export dried fruit to UK, and are looking to expand their market.

Great, but it costs approx £1,000 to set the whole system up and train about 20 farmers in buying the materials and building the dryers,  preparation of the fruit, hygiene, inspection and account keeping.

Mushroom Growing

It would cost about £1,500 to buy all the required materials and train  a large group of villagers in all aspects of  starting up, building, growing drying and marketing mushrooms. This can be a very lucrative long-term investment. A volunteer offering to fund this can themselves learn while actively helping organise the group.

Small Livestock Projects

Many different types of small animals can make a good regular  income for a family unit, but they need seed capital to start them off.  Rabbits, Goats, Ducks, Laying Hens,  Broilers, Turkeys,   Beekeeping, Pigs, Goats, and even a house cow can all be funded with a few hundred pounds  capital for each project. Things to consider are cost of building the  shelter (hive, hutch etc) cost of purchasing the animals and cost of their food until they start to show an income, as well training for those looking after the animals.

Village Houses

Most of the people living around Uganda Lodge are subsistence farmers. They have a very basic home,  usually consisting of two or three rooms and built with locally made mud bricks and a roof of either  thatched banana leaves and grass  or rusting iron sheets.

If the inside rooms have been plastered at some stage in the distant past, any paint on the walls looks like it was added at the same time! They have no power and rely mainly on candles or oil lamps.

You will find  a couple of chairs and a bench with maybe a table in the main room and a peek into the bedroom sees an array of dirty mattresses and torn mosquito nets and a few clothes hanging on a nail.

They usually cook on an open fire which will be outside of the house, and may have a roughly made plate rack and a board on which to prepare the food.

Latrines, depending on if they belong to one or several families, are in various stages of cleanliness and disrepair, and I have yet to see any signs of soap and water!

The welcome you will receive if you enter their house (don’t forget to take off your shoes!!) more than makes up for their meagre possessions.

Livelihoods

Having a small plot of land around their house on which to grow a few vegetables and maybe  keep a couple of goats and chickens occupies much of a village persons life.  Sometimes they can rent extra land from a big farmer if they are lucky.

Their day is spent fetching water and wood (jobs often relegated to children before and after school) tending their gardens, preparing and cooking their food,  and perhaps looking after a sick or elderly relative. Many families also care for one or two extra orphan children in their midst.

Crafts and Trades

Only a  few people have  any skills such as weaving, tailoring or carpentry and this is the area in which our proposed craft centre/workshop will be of great benefit.  Learning a trade can help support a family by giving an extra income for purchasing such items as oil, salt, candles etc.

Our idea is to encourage these already skilled village people to pass on their knowledge by offering the free use of the workshop and tools that we already have waiting. We hope that volunteers will come along and enhance this project with new ideas and innovative ways of marketing their products

Weaving Mats and Baskets

Some of the village women have joined together to hold weekly sessions for weaving baskets and mats from locally collected papyrus and grasses.  However, although they are of a very high quality they tend to only make things to sell amongst themselves, as they have no experience of business marketing skills. A volunteer with a love of crafts could perhaps introduce new ideas to them such as  batik, tie dye, jewellery, banana pictures and small items suitable as souvenirs

Pottery

Some women in the village are able to make basic pottery items for home use by hand, and for each batch they build a pit in the ground to make a kiln and fire them. The local clay is only suitable for brickmaking, so they have to save enough money to buy a truckload of clay from the next district. I have identified a different area in Uganda where we could bring a potter and teach our villagers how to build a kiln and a potters wheel, plus make items to sell to visitors staying at Uganda Lodge.  Maybe a volunteer could bestow the cost for that?

Music Dancing and Singing

A group of about 20 women have joined together to sing, dance and play drums at village events such as church gatherings, weddings, parties or funerals. They also come and entertain our guests. Any donations they receive go towards the caring of the orphan children in their midst

The Church

We have two churches quite close to Migorora Cell, and both welcome  visitors (in English) inviting them to stand up and say a few words about themselves. A tip: if you do not really wish to listen to a 2 or 3 hour service in another language – time it to enter half hour before the end! When the service ends you will be called into nearby homes to take a drink – some sort of local brew.