By Noah | Project Director
Jean has lived in Nakivale for over 5 years, and she actively participated in farming activities – growing food on her small piece of land provided to her by the Office of the Prime Minister in charge of refugees (OPM). Her only challenge was that she spent a lot of money buying chemicals, and her garden was not producing enough food for her household. She had resorted to working on farms from the host community in exchange for food.
“I love farming! When I got land from OPM, I started growing food for my children. After 3 years, the land could not produce any more food. We started starving, and so I had to go work outside the settlement for food. I would get too tired, and the food they give is always not enough. So, every week I would go work for food,” Jean recalled.
When Jean got enrolled in the Restoring Soils through a Sustainable Food Systems Approach for Refugee Communities (Re-FARM) project by YICE, she did not know things would change in a matter of months. She was introduced to regenerative farming, water harvesting and the use of organic matter – techniques that have been key to regenerating her soils. Jean’s garden became green again, and all crops were healthy. See the image below.
“With the training and support with YICE, I do not have any problem with food. My family eats at least 2 meals per day – with vegetables. Over the last 4 months, I have earned 100,000 UGX ($36) per month through the sale of food. I save at least 50,000 every month in the savings box. I no longer have to work on other people’s gardens to get what to eat.”
When asked about her future, Jean had this to say:
“With my savings, I have bought a small piece of land to expand my garden. I will continue applying the knowledge and skills learnt from YICE to grow more food and earn more income. I hope to raise enough money to pay school fees for my children.”
Jean is among 1,000 other refugees that have benefitted from YICE’s RE-farm project, funded by Doen Foundation and GlobalGiving donors. The 2-year project is being implemented in Nakivale Refugee Settlement, home to over 170,000 refugees from DRC, Burundi
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