Roots of change: Cultivating ecology and community in Uganda

Every impactful initiative starts with a vision, a drive to address challenges, innovate solutions and uplift communities. Over time, this vision matures, shaped by experiences, lessons learned and the guidance of dedicated mentors who help navigate obstacles and refine strategies. The School Food Forest Initiative, dedicated to advancing sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship, has been implemented in Kiboga, Namutumba and Kalangala Districts in East and Central Uganda, transforming landscapes and inspiring communities.

The evolution of our work

Our journey began with the ambition to merge food security and ecological dimensions through agricultural productivity. In Kiboga, we addressed issues surrounding sustainable land management by working closely with farmers to introduce resilient agroforestry techniques that help alleviate environmental challenges and restore soil health while maintaining yields. 

These agroforestry techniques include alley cropping, silvopasture, windbreaks, riparian buffers, mulching, nitrogen-fixing trees and multi-strata systems. Through participatory training, farmers adopted methods that integrated indigenous trees, improved irrigation techniques and reduced reliance on chemical fertilizers by adopting organic fertilizers like animal waste, crop waste and palm oil waste.

In Namutumba District, the focus of our work expanded to community-driven food security initiatives amid increasing climate-related challenges, including reduced water availability, and extreme weather such as intense heat. We emphasized the importance of resilient farming practices that promote drought-resistant crops and regenerative agriculture. 

Schools played a pivotal role in engaging young minds. Our approach involves engaging students through engaging them in planting and harvesting in local food forests, storytelling and art, eco-clubs, gamified learning and field trips with mentors, making sustainability fun, interactive and inspiring! 

We are fostering a generation of environmental champions who understand the delicate balance between farming and conservation.

Kalangala District, known for its palm oil farming, posed unique challenges regarding sustainability. Our School Food Forest Initiative emerged as an innovative approach, incorporating education with hands-on agroforestry projects. Students gained practical experience in cultivating food forests.

Here, students learn about biodiversity preservation and sustainable palm oil farming. Sustainable palm oil farming integrates agroforestry, preserves biodiversity, avoids deforestation and uses eco-friendly practices, unlike conventional methods that rely on monoculture and harm ecosystems.

By partnering with local farmers, the initiative created a blueprint for responsible land use that supports both agriculture and ecosystem health.

Lessons learned along the way

Our initiative’s growth has been shaped by lessons that extend beyond technical expertise; they speak to the power of collaboration, adaptability and resilience. Here are some key insights:

• Education is transformative: Involving schools in sustainable farming fosters long-term change. Young minds, when equipped with the right knowledge, become champions of environmental preservation. We engaged students in planting in in food forests, engaging them in eco-storytelling, incorporating nature challenges and interactive farm walks, making sustainability fun and memorable.
• Community engagement is vital: Sustainability cannot thrive in isolation. Encouraging participation from local farmers, educators and policymakers ensures that solutions are practical, scalable and embraced by the people who need them most.
• Challenges fuel innovation: Whether it’s navigating resource constraints in Namutumba or addressing deforestation concerns in Kalangala, obstacles have prompted creative solutions that refine our approach and strengthen our impact.

The role of mentorship in our journey

Mentorship has been a cornerstone of our success, shaping not only the trajectory of our environmental initiatives but also our personal growth as changemakers. From agricultural specialists to environmental advocates, our mentors Steve Misati, Vianny Ahimbisibwe and Nadia Sitas have provided invaluable guidance that continues to ripple through every aspect of our work.

Their support has been instrumental in helping us bridge knowledge gaps, navigate complex challenges and refine our strategies. Whether it’s designing agroforestry models for the School Food Forest Initiative or structuring community engagement for the Duulu tournaments, these are famous fun tournaments more like a local Ugandan pool table game played on the ground using round tree seeds and seed balls,  our mentors have offered technical expertise and strategic foresight. For instance, Steve’s insights into community-led restoration helped us tailor our tree planting campaigns to local ecological conditions, ensuring higher survival rates and deeper community ownership.

Beyond their practical advice, their mentorship has profoundly shaped our mindset. Nadia’s encouragement to integrate cultural heritage into conservation inspired us to elevate traditional games like Duulu as tools for environmental education. Vianny’s emphasis on systems thinking has helped us see the interconnectedness of our work from soil health to social cohesion.

These mentors have challenged our team to grow. They’ve encouraged critical reflection, nurtured our leadership skills and reminded us to stay grounded in our values even as we scale our impact. Their belief in our vision has been a steady source of motivation, especially during moments of uncertainty.

In many ways, our mentors are not just advisors; they are co-dreamers and co-builders of a more sustainable, culturally rooted future for Uganda.

Looking ahead

While we celebrate the milestones we’ve reached in Kiboga, Namutumba, and Kalangala, our journey is far from over. These successes have laid a strong foundation, but they are just the beginning of a broader vision to cultivate resilient, sustainable agricultural landscapes that not only restore ecosystems but also empower communities for generations to come.

Our next steps involve scaling the School Food Forest Initiative to more schools across Uganda, with a focus on integrating indigenous tree species like the African Blackwood to enhance biodiversity and cultural relevance. 

To achieve this, we are:

• Strengthening partnerships with local schools, community leaders and environmental organizations
• Securing additional funding to support long-term sustainability and tree care
• Developing tailored educational materials that blend ecological science with cultural storytelling
• Training local youth as conservation ambassadors to ensure continuity and local ownership

Our mentors Steve Misati, Vianny Ahimbisibwe and Nadia Sitas remain integral to this journey. In the coming months, we plan to engage in:

• Co-developing a monitoring and evaluation framework to track ecological and social impact
• Hosting virtual strategy sessions to refine our expansion model
• Participating in joint workshops to share our learnings with other restoration practitioners across Africa

Their continued guidance will help us stay adaptive, grounded and visionary as we navigate new terrain. With mentorship, collaboration and an unwavering commitment to sustainability, we move forward cultivating change, one initiative at a time.