Safe World Field Trip to the orchard in Kaabong

AWARE Uganda Orchard Project

About the Project

FRUIT-GROWING FOR HEALTH & LIFE IN A SEMI-DESERT

AWARE Uganda - a women's NGO in north-east Uganda on the border of Southern Sudan and Kenya - was founded more than 25 years ago.

Tree-planting was one of the very first projects.

The women acquired various seeds which included fruit trees such as mangoes, orange, guava, jackfruit, tangarines, passion fruit, pawpaw, and they acquired land of about 10,000 square metres.

The women's group planted the seeds. A few of the seedlings survived and grew into trees. However, in the semi-desert environment of Kaabong, it is a constant struggle to keep the trees alive and productive.

With minimal outside help or agricultural assistance, the women have managed to keep some of the trees alive and have persisited in planting further seedlings.

Visit by Safe World

Safe World founder, Chris Crowstaff, visited the orchard in the summer of 2009. At the time there had been no rain for 2 years. Even the previously productive trees had stopped giving fruit, apart from a few Guavas.

AWARE Uganda founder, Grace Loumo, remembered how - in previous years - the orchard had supplied much-needed fruit, especially oranges, to the local hospital, as well as meeting the needs of AWARE members and their families. But now all the orange trees were barren.

Digging for water in the dry river-bed

The women have to walk about 2 kilometres to collect water for the trees, especially during the dry season. The dry season lasts for seven months and sometimes longer, since Karamoja only experiences one rainy season a year at the most. Some years there is no rain. The women and men dig the sand in the river-bed for water for the orchard.

Security is a huge issue

Fruit is so scarce in Kaabong that, when the few fruits ripen there is stiff competition from the people and animals in the neighbourhood and much of the fruit disappears before the women and children could harvest it.

Kaabong is still primarily a warrior region. The warrior mindset, together with abject poverty, means that valuable commodities need to be carefully secured and guarded.

There is often little or no fruit in the shops in Kaabong and when fruit is brought in from elsewhere it is prohibitively expensive for the majority of the community. And yet fruit provides life-saving nutrients in such an arid environment.

HELP KAABONG WOMEN TO HELP THEMSELVES

The members of AWARE Uganda appeal for help to drill a bore hole in the orchard, provide irrigation pipes and a storage facility for water, and seed funding to purchase fertilizers and pay for security guards' wages and a fence to protect the fruits.

This will give the fruit trees the best possible chance and will help to improve the health of the women and children of AWARE Uganda considerably, in addition to helping the members to resume a small-scale fruit-selling industry.

TARGET

Project target is £11,000.

93% of the target amount will go to AWARE Uganda towards the cost of bore hole, irrigation equipment, storage tank, fertilizers, secure fencing and gates and security gards.

7% will go towards cost of monetary transfer and administration costs of The Safe World International Foundation.

AWARE Uganda Orchard Project

The need for fruit

By Teddy Curran, AWARE Technical Director

The Orchard

The trees in the orchard are severely suffering from lack of irrigation. The women walk 2kms to fetch water from the river and in the dry season - which is most of the year - they must dig through the sand in the river-bed to find water.

The orchard is not adequately fenced. The exisiting fence is not secure so all the humans and animals have access to the fruits once they are ripe and there is little left for the women and children.

The organisation can not afford any treatment or fertilizers for the fruits.

The fruit trees need to be protected, and provided with proper fertilizers to boost their growth, and treated for any diseases, parasites and pests.

Needs of the women and children

Kaabong is a semi-desert and fruit is a scarce commodity.

Fruit is transported for many hours along hot, dusty roads from neighboring districts - over 300km from Soroti and 200 km from Lira.

By the time it arrives in Kaabong it no longer fresh.  In addition, it commands a high price and is too expensive for the majority of women and children. They rarely have access to the fruit, due to poverty.

Auma Josephine, a member of AWARE, was interviewed.

She has five children between 10 to 17 years and she says that when she gives fruit to the children their health improves noticably. She said there was a big difference during the dry season when the trees have no fruits.

SOLUTION

To drill and install a bore hole in the orchard. To provide irrigation pipes and a storage tank for water (10,000 cc).

In addition, seed funding is needed to purchase fertilizers, pest and disease control equipment, to pay security guard wages and to erect a fence and gates to protect the fruits from theft, livestock and wild animals.

Target: £11,000.

Number of trees alive in the orchard at the moment – and their types (including young trees that have just been planted).

AWARE Uganda Orchard Project

Project Aims

To revive the orchard as a major local food source and income-generating project, as has been the case previously in past years when the rivers were not so dry.

Use of the orchard fruit.

Tree-planting was one of the very first projects.

The women acquired various seeds which included fruit trees such as mangoes, orange, guava, jackfruit, margarines, passion fruit, pawpaw, and they acquired land of about 10,000 square metres.

To provide nutrition to the pregnant mothers at the centre, the community school children, the sick in Kaabong hospital and the community at large.

Fruits will help provide nutrients to the pregnant mothers at the maternity centre. The children will benefit from the fruits, including the children in the neighbouring schools.

Surplus fruit will be sold to hospitals to provide patients with nutrition and a boost for immune systems.

The women's groups will also sell fruit to the community for income saving and loans schemes.

This will provide sustainability for the project to continue after the funding is exhausted.

Target: £11,000.

The woman of AWARE Uganda have since started diversifying and have planted crops and vegetables in between the rows of fruit trees.

Uganda Orchard Project

Project Costs

(Estimated)

Notes:

In addition, local materials - sand aggregates, water and unskilled labour - will be contributed by AWARE Uganda and the community. Estimated value: £4,300

Funding for chain-link fencing has already been raised.

AWARE Uganda Orchard Project

Please Support the Project

Your gift will make a difference!

93% of your donation will go to AWARE Uganda towards the cost of bore hole, irrigation equipment, storage tank, fertilizers, secure fencing and gates and security gards.
7% of your donation will go towards cost of monetary transfer and administration costs of The Safeworld International Foundation.