Help Plant 533 Families out of Poverty in Uganda

Simon is entering his second year with the Lira, Uganda Forest Garden Project and shared the many ways in which his trainings and experiences have enhanced his land and the way he works. An ambitious farmer and innovator, Simon had diverse crops and interesting projects on his land. However, there are a few key ways in which Simon and his family has seen major improvements.

A few years ago, Simon’s land was vulnerable to grazing and roaming cattle. Now, the living fence protects his lands and establishes a clear boundary. In addition to the obvious benefits, Simon has also noticed an improvement in his soil from the nitrogen fixing trees that compose his fence.

Previously, Simon  would purchase chemicals in town to use as pesticide and manure to enhance growth. Now, he has learned how to make a natural pesticide with chilies and various plants he grows on his plot. And instead of purchasing manure at market, Simon has begun composting in his Forest Garden, which has generated rich soil he spreads on his crops. He also intends to sell excess soil as an additional source of income, once his compost pile expands.

Simon has taken the lessons learned through his trainings and applied them throughout his Forest Garden, with great success. He work alongside his sons has brought more yield of diverse foods, increasing his family’s dietary consumption and diversity, with excess sold to bring in additional income. His soil is healthier and he now grows his crops organically – all of this achieved in his first year with the program. We cannot wait to see what Simon and his family is able to achieve in the coming years.

Through three trainings held this year, farmers in Lira learned to optimize their vegetable growing space and think of ideas to branch out into business like Simon. We encourage our farmers to be entrepreneurial and think of innovative ways to add to the Forest Garden’s value. We are glad to see these efforts taking off and on behalf of our farmers we want to thank you for your help in making it happen!

Sincerely,

The Trees for the Future Team

Links:

• Check out our BRAND NEW book called "One Shot"!
• Plant Trees. Change Lives.

Dear friend,

Trees for the Future is  busy working on planting trees with our Ugandan farmers. We wanted to share the story of one farmer, Afiya*, who has made a great effort to make her life better through planting trees.

Afiya is a widow who looks after 9 of her 20 grandchildren. Three of her sons were captured during the insurgency of the Lord’s Resistance Army in the early 2000s and she took in their small children. With such a large family, Afiya has a lot of mouths to feed. In addition to her struggles, two her daughters died of AIDS-related diseases and left behind several children that have also been raised by Afiya and their older cousins.

In 2017, with the income she could generate from growing trees and vegetables next year, Afiya hopes to buy new school uniforms and shoes for her grandchildren. On her three acres of land, she has planted a Forest Garden on one acre. This small but productive Forest Garden increases her number of valuable crops from an average of three to an average of 12. These crops include fast-growing trees, fruit trees, and many nutritious vegetables to help feed her growing family and create a more food secure future.

With your support, Afiya is earning more income and creating a more sustainable and propsperous future for her large family. Through your donations to this project, her life and the lives of her children are better.

We can't thank you enough for your help of this family and many others like it!

Sincerely,

Trees for the Future

*Name of actual participant changed in this report 

Links:

• Check out trees.org to see more about our work!