January 21, 2009

After helping build the TASO AIDS Clinic garden, many patients wanted a home garden of their own. So, we have started with the first of our home garden projects at an HIV patients home named Florence. Florence contracted HIV 13 years ago and works sensitizing people in her community to HIV. She has started an HIV support group within her community and these members are the ones participating in the building of each home garden.
Florence mobilized her group of 29 HIV patients in the community to come help build her garden. It was great to see so many interested members learning how easy it is to grow nutritious vegetables. A variety of vegetables will aid in the effectiveness of their medications to keep them healthy, which staying healthy most important thing to do when suffering from HIV. We have taught them how to grow plants using recycled materials such as rice sacks and old buckets as some of the members have no land to farm. The group is now empowered with the knowledge of building their own gardens. We will help them with tools and seeds but they are now able to help each other build the gardens. We have given them a reference manual for maintaining the gardens which outlines organic pesticides and fertilizers, seed saving, nutrition value, etc…
We will continue with advice and support with each new home garden, but ultimately the gardens will be built and maintained by the HIV group members
We have started harvesting various crops at the orphanage garden and continue harvesting and planting at our other garden sites. Many of these vegetables are new to many palates so we have started cooking classes on site while providing information on the crops nutritional value. We are excited to have Sarah Koch, from DIG, in Jinja the next few weeks helping us with our projects and cooking classes!
Next week we will be at the Budondo HIV Health Clinic garden overseeing and helping with the ISSB water harvesting tank which will provide water for the Budondo garden. Currently, the managers of our garden sites are forced to walk long distances to fetch water to keep the gardens stay alive during this hot and dry season. These tanks, fed by gutters from the roofs of buildings, will hold up to 5000 Litres of water for the gardens use. DIG is funding the water tank project and Haileybury Youth Trust (HYT), a non-profit based out of England, will be using their environmentally friendly brick building technology to build the tanks on site. We will explain the technology as the project gets underway on Monday.

Thank you everyone

We just want to thank everyone who takes the time to view our blog. It means so much to read postings as it helps us in what we are doing.
We also want congratulate our dear friends Frank and Louisa who are newly engaged! We are so happy for them and can't wait for their wedding.
We love hearing from you and it all means so much to us during our time here. And a special thanks to Amy Carter (our second mom) who has kept us comfy with sleeping bags and pillows.
Happy New Year with Much Love,
Rafe and Ansley

Jan.2 - Jan.9

We have finsihed the digging of the 1.5 acre farm at the orphanage! Chris, the farmer we work with, mobilized 29 poeple to come help with labor in return for knolwedge of organic farming techniques. These 29 people along with us and the kids at the orphanage finished digging all of the garden beds and planting matooke (their main cash crop), mango tress, passion fruit, orange trees and pineapple are soon to come. We also started the nursery of tomatoes, onions, eggplants, and cabbage . These crops will be intercropped with the fruit trees and will be treated with organic pesticides, chicken manure, and charcoal dust.
It is truly amazing how quickly work can be accomplished when 29 poeple get together and help a community member in need. We learn so much working alongside Ugandans who have been working in agriculture their entire life. They work so hard and are very resourceful. Nothing goes to waste here. We have created many friendships working alongside each other and eating every meal together. Even when language can form a barrier, hard agricluture work can create a bond. We have even learned a bit about cooking Ugandan food: posho, beans, matookee, and chapatis.
We are also helping oversee the construction of a water harvesting tank DIG is funding for the Budundo Community HIV/AIDS Center garden. We tested the soil on site today with the builders and will start woek later this month. It is still the dry season and we have not seen a drop of rain in over a month. So, everyone must walk up to 3 km with a jerry can to retrieve water from the Nile river or a nearby bore hole. This tank will harvest water from the roof during the rainy season with metal guttering and be saved for days of draught. We will explain the sustainable brick building technique we will be using to build the tank as we get started. We are also looking into this option for the orphanage as well.
We have also dived into the Ugandan business world as we have to supervise our projects, pay laborers, and handle problems that arise. Things work much differently here and our patience is constantly tested as our western ways usually do not apply here. Unfortunately, we deal with alot of scam since many Ugandans understandibly see white people as money. We are constantly tested but have been fortunate to have much support from local Ugandans who help us with our business choices. These scams happen on project sites, in the market buying tools, and can even happen with your friends. Our cultures are very different and we have to be careful with the choices we make as seemingly positive help can ultimately be detrimantal to the community at large. These big picture lessons are what being in Uganda is all about.

December 22 - Jan. 1

All 20 garden beds have been dug at the Buwala orphanage! We have planted and mulched almost all of the beds with transplanted plants and seeds. We are leaving a few beds open for when our nursery seedlings are ready to be transplanted. We started the fencing around the garden and the kids finished the entire fencing over the holidays while we are away. They are really taking pride in their hard work and their garden which is what we hoped for!
We have planted many vegetables and herbs including carrots, peas, tomatoes, beets, French beans, radishes, okra, zucchini, turnip greens, mustard greens, green peppers, spinach, kale, collards, cabbage, parsley, romaine, salad mix, onions, dill, arugula, chives, basil, eggplants, basil, cilantro, cayenne pepper, jalapeño peppers, parsley, and more. We are excited to have completed our first garden and to watch the kids take care of it and soon bare its harvest.
Tomorrow we will be in the market buying supplies for the 1 acre garden which will start on the 5th. We will be purchasing wheel barrels, shovels, hoes, fencing material, various tools, seeds, chicken manure, charcoal dust, etc… We will be teaming up with local Ugandan farmer, Chris and fifteen of his men to build this garden. Chris has been trained in sustainable farming techniques in Uganda. He helps build farms and teaches organic methods to the local farmers in the area along with running his demonstration garden at his home near Jinja.
Paul, the farmer and owner of the orphanage, will be selling the harvest commercially for profit. Hopefully this will help him sustain the orphanage without continued outside aid. He will also oversee the home garden with the kids as they use the harvest for their own source of food.
Along with this project we are tending to three gardens in the area. These include the Allen Stone health clinic garden, TASO (The AIDS Support Organization) garden, and the Budundo Community HIV Education garden. These DIG gardens are being run by local women who use the nutritious produce to help complement their HIV medications. They also sell some of the vegetables for profit to support their organizations and gardens. We will also be helping some of these women build home gardens for personal use.