It is not often that an ambassador visits a ghetto, but when Friedricke Quispel, the ambassador of the Netherlands, visited Kamwokya, one of the ghettos in Kampala, last Friday, she went back home with beautiful memories of a lowly city community.
Their lives are changing, courtesy of improved nutrition, owing to a community urban farm that is supported by Joseph Male, one the of 2019 winners of the best farmer competition.
The farm, which sits on one acre of land, was set up after Male visited a ‘Care farm’ in the Netherlands that catered for mainly disadvantaged members of the community.
As a winner of the competition, Male visited the Netherlands in June 2023.
Although he had already started this community initiative to help farmers, this visit galvanised his resolve.
“This community farm is an indicator of how big an impact the best farmers competition is making in Uganda,” Quispel said.
The best farmers competition is organised by Vision Group, in partnership with the Embassy of the Netherlands, dfcu Bank, KLM Airlines and Koudjis Nutrition BV.
The competition has been running since 2014. Quispel added that the embassy of the Netherlands will continue supporting agriculture because of its positive benefits to communities.
“Sometimes you do not need big interventions to change and lift the lives of the population. Innovations like this improve community nutrition and at the same time bring some income to the people,” she said.
Genesis
“When I won in the competition, it sparked the idea of giving back to the community. There is no better way of giving back than this farm,” Male says.
He raised the funds for the project from the Lions Club of Norway and through Lions Aid.
Other partners include Spice of Life and Holland Greentech, another Dutch company which distribute seeds and greenhouse technologies.
The initiative is called Kamwokya Community Livelihood Development Project and the space was donated by Kamwokya Community Caring Community (KCCC) in Kisenyi II in Kamwokya.
Male’s Avail Fruits of Faith Farm provides the expertise, including the greenhouses and seedlings. In addition to training the farmers, they also receive the initial seedlings free of charge.
Community gardens
The Kamwokya farm is open to everybody, especially on Wednesdays, when there is an open field training session.
Godfrey Sserunjogi, one of the Kamwokya Community Caring Community leaders in Kamwokya, lauded the project for causing fundamental change in the community.
“We had many cases of malnourished children, but the vegetables from this farm are changing this trend. Our people can consume fresh vegetables straight from the farm. Others are also growing their own vegetables,” he said.
Male says there are other community gardens that he is running in West Nile, including at St Aloysius Nyapeya, Zombo, Madi-Okollo, Gulu, Butebo, Budaka, Wakiso and Masaka.
LEAD PHOTO CAPTION: Male (centre) with Quispel and other farmers in Kamwokya. (Photo by Joshua Kato)
