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.