Project description
Gertjan and Kate Flikweert operate in NorthUganda. This is a poor region where the desert (the Sahel) is encroaching. This encroachment is being accelerated by people felling trees to cook food on. In addition, large numbers of trees are being felled in Uganda for the production of charcoal, often illegally. Illegal logging causes significant damage to the environment, but is also harmful to poor farmers. If the current trend continues, there will be no forests left in northern Uganda by 2050.
Gertjan and Kate want to change this by setting up agricultural projects. How do you give people their own means of livelihood? In doing so, forests are needed for nature, people and animals. They encourage the planting of trees in this desert-like area. They do this through their own tree nursery, through education, but also by letting the local population help with planting. In this way, the forest becomes theirs.
Why this project?
A disaster is unfolding in northern Uganda. The soil is drying out due to a lack of rainfall, but also because of deforestation. As a result, farmers are losing their livestock, fewer fruit and vegetables are growing, and the desert is encroaching. If nothing is done, people will migrate to the south or try to reach Europe as refugees.
How is it set up?
Gertjan and Kate have set up a training farm in Gulu, Uganda, through the Hope Alive Foundation. The aim of the farm is to provide economic development opportunities for farming families living in poverty. At the farm, local farmers can see examples of small-scale projects that they can set up on their own farms. Examples of projects include planting trees so that people can make their own charcoal (which combats local deforestation), keeping bees (which is also good for local flora and fauna) and rearing crickets (a good source of protein and therefore a good alternative to meat). At the farm, Hope Alive has set up its own tree nursery to take cuttings and grow saplings. Once they are big enough, these trees are planted in endangered areas and also distributed to communities so they can plant them in their villages or on their own land.
Impact
New afforestation provides protection from desert encroachment, as well as from disasters such as landslides and floods. In the process, forests provide a natural environment for agriculture and a habitat for living. The instruction given ensures that timber is cut responsibly so that the forest remains intact.
