One year on, and we’ve purchased six additional acres of land complete with two houses!
January 2021, we paid our first visit to our community in Uganda, Bugiri, having just bought our first acre of land.
Although our humble acre served as a fertile starting point, allowing us to provide clean drinking water for over 200 people, local produce and even a batch of eco-fertilizer, we were keen to expand, unsure of how much of the surrounding land we could purchase.
Peeking through the windows of the two houses located next to our patch, we dreamed of repurposing them for the community by establishing an orphanage.
Thanks to all of the donations we have received, that dream is becoming a reality. With renovation plans underway, it won’t be long before we can provide a happy home for the children most in need.
On the ground, we currently have 28 children in our care for as sadly, their parents are unable to provide. This is largely due to death or illness, mostly caused by poor nutrition and unsafe drinking water, issues which we are already tackling with our work. With continued support and implementation of sustainable techniques to provide adequate food, water and income, we can greatly reduce the number of children left without parents in the area.
We aspire to make a truly exceptional orphanage, not only offering the sense of community, safety and stability that is so important for humans to thrive, but also providing academic education, teaching self-discipline, citizenship, and how to provide food in a way that contributes to nature, instead of destroying it.
We will also be able to monitor their general health, while providing essential healthcare, alongside a nutritional and balanced diet.
We are excited to be developing such a holistic home for these children, and the ripple effects are already impacting the wider community, as now our road and well is attracting other people to the area.
We will continue to use polyculture techniques to grow beans, corn and bananas on the new land, rotating the crops as necessary so as not to deplete the ground of essential nutrients.
After harvesting, waste plant mass is left to bio-degrade, acting as an organic fertilizer, while the careful placement of plants with natural insect repellent properties means we do not need artificial and environmentally damaging pesticides.
Our food goes and will continue to go towards the children as a priority, though excess food goes to the elderly and the poorest families in the area. Our hosting of workshops and events brings as many as 50 extra children to the site, all of who we feed.
The total cost of the land and houses was 30,000 euros, a goal that wouldn’t have been possible without the one off donations from our many supporters and our regular Patreon subscribers. So again, a huge thanks to everyone who has contributed. You are making a world of difference.
