Thanks to a generous donation by the Omotani Caring Foundation, in 2022, we were able to purchase a 10-acre farm land at Matanda (near Kihihi). The purpose of this program is to train and empower families of several Batwa communities via farming activities, of which the crops and profits of the sales will be used to support their families and reinvested to make the program sustainable.
This program is supervised by Bwindi Batwa Farm.
In early March 2023, the first steps were taken to plow the land and remove also any remaining grasses/weed. Then by the end of March, the first seeds (corn, beans, millet and pumpkins) were sown to become the first crops.
In August, the corn was harvested! 11 bags (each ~ 100 kg) of corn were harvested, and will soon be used to make maize powder that is used to make many of the main dishe. See below for some of the pics of the corn harvest. In addition, 50 kg of beans were harvested. The proceeds will soon be distributed to the 14 families that were involved in this program so far.
Cassava is still growing. More updates will be added here soon.
We welcome donations to this program as we want to continue and expand this program, including by building a simple farm house with storage and living space on the farm land so that the Batwa families can take turn staying there to take care of the crops when not many people are required. This will save a lot on transportation time and expenses. The estimated expense for this structure, made with bricks and concrete is approximately $18,000. Click here to see a budget breakdown. Any donation will already make a difference.
To support this Batwa farming project can use the link below for online donations (credit card, Paypal or Venmo), or mail a check (payable to “Sahaya International”, with mention “Batwa farm”, to us at 1504 Portola Street, Davis, CA 95616). For other ways to donate, click here to go to our donations page.
Pictures on this page taken by Mushamba Moses and Robert Tweheyo.
Pictures of March through August 2023, from the start of the land preparation to the first harvest of corn.
