Support Community Development in Soroti, Uganda with Bamboo and Syntropic Farming

Bamboo Creative Outreach – Revivement Village Uganda Chapter

Joel Odongo reached out to me over three years ago for help in building a Community Centre with bamboo and recycled plastic in Soroti, Uganda. He has faced hardships in his life but has chosen to give back to his community. In 2015, he established the Community Organisation TANU (Transformation Advocacy Network Uganda) to support the youth and women in Soroti. He has obtained land for the project and has been working on small farming activities, but additional funding is needed for infrastructure and training to make the project sustainable.

The 2.5 acres of land will support 20-30 families. Joel wants to help TANU build a Community Centre on the donated land. They also plan to grow bamboo for construction and fuel, trees for reforestation, vegetable crops, and establish fish ponds. Jackson Buzingo, a Syntropic Agroforestry Trainer from Tanzania, will assist in training local youth and women in syntropic farming.

During our conversations, I learned a lot about local life in his hometown. It made me think about my own experiences living in the Philippines. I asked them about what they use for cooking in Uganda – gas, charcoal, or firewood. I also asked where cooking is done. I helped to initiate activities for making smokeless stoves and charcoal briquettes from organic waste to support sustainable practices. Joel and his group started these activities right away.

Joel has recently overcome Malaria and Typhoid and he looks very different now in this video – his passion and dedication is amazing.

Joel and his community group (TANU) want to create a program to learn about bamboo building. They plan to grow bamboo on the community land and then use animal manure and organic waste to make compost. This compost will help nourish a nursery where bamboo and other plants will be grown. They have the support of a Kenyan Community Group who are already growing bamboo and helping farmers grow bamboo on their lands. They are also discussing joining TANU to learn Syntropic Farming techniques with Jackson Buzingo. The Kenyan group says these techniques are urgently needed in their area due to increased flooding and the resulting damage to farms.

Areas of the project have been planned out in stages – with water supply being in the first stage to access water from a nearby well (already present) through a solar pump that will provide water supply for the nursery and plants as they are planted. The well will also supply water more easily to the surrounding community than the existing manual well.

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The group currently has nowhere suitable to meet and times are difficult in Uganda. With funds to build this building, the group can contribute their time and labor to build the building and start projects to help raise income for the community and create livelihood businesses to alleviate poverty and sustain people. Times are even more difficult at present with very low rainfall this season and people are unable to get their crops growing sufficiently to produce food. Joel has reported to me that people in his village have taken their own lives in the past 2 months as they are not able to feed themselves!

Supporting this project will help Joel and his community build a Community Centre. This Centre will be a hub for the Women’s Group and the Youth Group to work on their projects. It will also allow the community group to use the 2.5 acres of land that was donated to the project by a local Korean business owner. The group has already made and fired over 20,000 bricks for the building.

So far, (during Covid) we have taken some cost-free steps, such as installing smokeless stoves in the houses. In this village, wood is still the main fuel for cooking, and the stoves are traditionally placed indoors, causing respiratory health issues. I told Joel about the smokeless stove design, and he quickly gathered his community to build these stoves in people’s homes. Then, I taught him how to make briquettes for cooking fuel, using organic waste like maize, peanut, and rice by-products available from nearby commercial farms. His community group tried this as a trial product, but they have limited equipment and need more infrastructure to continue the project.

Pictured below: Smokeless stove made in Joel’s Community and the making of Briquettes with organic waste and cassava “glue”.

We need help to raise $6,000 to buy materials for building infrastructure in a community project. The project includes raising the building, buying a solar pump, and establishing a nursery and watering system for various purposes like growing vegetables and reforestation. The project will provide life-changing opportunities for the people of a village in Uganda, and the youth members with skills in concrete work, carpentry, and mechanics will contribute their labor. Your financial assistance is invaluable to make this happen.

Uganda supplies Shea Butter and we want to create a beauty product with local honey and Shea Butter for the global market. The project is owned by a Ugandan community group.

In the next 3-5 years after starting this project, TANU will organize education programs for local people from Uganda and Kenya. They also plan to create an Eco-centre with programs for visitors to learn about traditional clay brick making and weaving crafts, as well as experience Ugandan music. Freyr is excited to join and help with a bamboo-building course in Uganda! 🙂

I am inspired by Joel’s passion and commitment to his community. I have met several community members via video call. It is incredibly difficult in Uganda right now due to Covid-19. Helping to develop this project could give people hope for the future. I hope to raise awareness about the project and assist in raising the needed funds. We have talked about making a tour to his village next year in November so my daughter can experience the culture and music of Uganda.

Joel and his community see their project as a Revivement Village Project, a place to welcome, educate, and share experiences with others who want to help build a thriving community-village from the ground-up. They also want to introduce the idea of Community Currency to enable co-investment at later stages, beyond just helping those in need, to build a shared place without the concept of “ownership,” but through “co-contribution.”

Since the “Western Culture” and the current financial system took control, workers in post-colonized countries have been paid very low salaries. Uganda still uses “Shillings” as its currency, which reflects a time of severe poverty. I’ve been discussing with Joel about creating a Community Currency to keep track of people’s contributions and recognize their involvement in the Community Centre. In an environment with little money but lots of time, it’s important to see time as a valuable currency. The youth group has skills in mechanics, concreting, and carpentry, and those involved in building greenhouses and maintaining plants should have a visual representation of their contributions and a share of the community outputs. We’d like to encourage the use of a community currency system and acknowledge people’s contributions. (I’ve been interested in the concept of Community Currency for a while and I believe it’s important to develop such systems for future village communities, incorporating skills, finance, and labor at an equitable and agreed value, rather than letting those with money be the only decision-makers).

If you want to help with this campaign, offer professional advice, or support in other ways, please get in touch with us at outreach@bamboocreative.org.