UCF has various projects to create a more sustainable way of farming

These projects are all focused on three basic principles:

People

With our projects, we aim to strengthen our community, by creating more collaboration between our people, and to create and sustain a social network within the community.

Planet

Our projects are environmentally friendly, and aim to restore a dilapidated ecosystem through application of innovative technologies for sustainable development.

Profit

Our projects are meant to create community access to available resources that can be employed to secure incomes, improve self reliance and improve the general livelihood of our communities.

The poultry project

The objective is to provide skills and knowledge on income generating opportunities to farmer groups, youth and individual farmers through poultry rearing.

“Many farmers are highly dependent upon subsistance farming. They are highly dependent on one crop, mostly rice, and are not resilient to crop failures. By diversifying their activities, we aim to train these farmers new techniques. The poultry project is one of these techniques. As there is a steady market for eggs and chicken in Uganda, UCF trained farmers in poultry techniques.”

The food security project

“New ways of farming can empower the community in food security”

Rice farmers in Kibuku tend to have an unbalanced diet, with malnutrition as a result. Furthermore, the monoculture of rice makes them highly vulnerable to crop failures., UCF trains groups of people in diversifying crops to enhance nutrition, control quality and enhance access to local markets.

In these trainings, women groups are being trained in the modern methods of farming. The organization is working hand in hand with its volunteers in supporting farmer groups transform from subsistence farming to agri-business through training. These trainings help small-hold farmers to become empowered and self-reliant entrepreneurs, who work to attain a state of food sovereignty and a sustainable household income.

In the last two years, two women groups have been trained in modern farming methods, and one assocation of widows in the name of ‘Pulaka widows association’ has been trained in the same skills

Sustainable Bee Keeping

The major objective of this project is to protect bees and to enhance women and youth in training the skills of bee keeping.

Honey bees perform around 80% of all pollination world wide. However, bees are dying wordwidely due to various reasons (such as drought, pesticides, air polution and global warming). With this project, we aim to protect the bees, while giving vulnerable groups the opportunity to gain income by getting trained in the skills of bee keeping.

Two main activities are performed in order to achieve this objective:

UCF has set up a bee keeping demonstration with 8 bee hives, which is being used for training purposes and self sustainance of the organisation.
Women and youth have been trained in the skills of bee keeping and have started and picked interest in bee keeping on a small scale of 1-2 bee hives each member.

As a result, several women have started the bee-keeping project. Moreover, several widows have started a community saving credit, which enhances them in their economic position (click here for more information about these VSLAs).

Fish farming to protect wetlands

The major objective of this project is to protect the wetlands and provide income to the community through fish farming.

Wetlands are crucial in coping with climate change and increasing droughts, as they are among the world’s most productive environments, on which countless species of plants and animals depend (see, for example, here). In Kibuku district, intensive agricultural use of wetlands for rice growing has drained and destroyed the wetlands. Therefore, UCF aims to enhance the community to protect the community through fish farming in the wetlands.

Fish farming is sustainable as it protects the wetlands, and provides income for the community, making them more self-reliant. Our project consists of the following two aspects:

We train farmers to transform their rice fields to fish farming wetlands, by demonstrating our own 16 fish ponds. Our achievement until now is that seven members in the farmers group have managed to construct 12 fish ponds.
We equip and train the youth in our community with fish farming skills, so that they can familiarize themselves with the techniques and gain income for their families.

Stone to stove

From cooking on stones to cooking on stoves

Many households in Kibuku district are used to cooking by a stone cooking method. However, this has various problems: smoke is vented into the home, instead of outdoors, causing health problems; fuel is wasted as heat is allowed to escape in the open air, and the use of an open fire creates a risk of burns and scalds. We aim to change the cooking method to a stove cooking method.

The project consists of two components:

Training in the production of energy-saving stoves to replace the use of the “three stones”.
Establishment of nurseries for planting of trees

Jireh Children's Project

Is a community based, operating in Eastern Uganda in Budaka and Kibuku districts and later to reach out to other districts of the country in need. We engage in children’s development with the overall goal of improving the livelihoods of orphans, HIV positive children, children with sickle cell, abandoned, vulnerable and street children . We are currently supporting 76 children and their families. We exploit holistic and systematic approaches that enhance healthier, productive and sustainable living of the children including their communities.

About Us

UCF Is a community based organization in Kibuku, Budaka district, Uganda our Overall goal is sustainable development through systematic approaches, We do this by mobilizing, training and supporting communities

Our Mission

To Promote Community wellness and Development