Technology & Sustainability Develops One Village at a Time.

To me Africa is home and my love for it is undying. The rural areas especially. The ratrace has caught on in major cities but is this to our advantage or disadvantage? Africa is chasing the developed world in the movies, fantasising instead of knowing and learning the lessons which the developed world has aready experienced.  I think we should step back and develop our rural areas with much pride and planning to have areas we will be proud of for generations to come. How do we do this i hear you ask and this is i how i think our rural areas should be developed. A meaningful step at a time.

In October 2009 we decided to start a small community based organisation in Butambala, Mpigi. Uganda. The project is in its initial stages  and the establishment of a "nursery bank" is underway however the vision is quite clear.

Employing simple technologies like vertiver grass ( vertiver systems) in every home in the village in 2 years. The technolgy employed should do more than one job unless absolutely necessary ( machine equipment).  This grass is so vital, eg. It acts as a hedgerow, prevents soil erosion, handcrafts can be made from the grass and roots, perfumed oil , houses can be thatched, the grass can be used to clean contaminated water, it is believed to improve yields when planted with crops even in dry areas. To fully understand the beauty of this grass follow this link. http://www.vetiver.org/

The grass addresses many vital issues affecting the rural farmer, the ever decreasing rains which lead to huge losses , the lack of thatch to use for affordable housing since the wealthy have now taken an interest in it and the poor farmer can nolonger afford it as even those who grow it prefer to sell it to earn an income. The soils regain fertility overtime as soil erosion is prevented and dirty pond pig slurry water can be cleaned.  Lastly, the farmer can earn a reasonable income from selling seedlings of this expensive grass. This technology exists but you can count on your fingertips those who have employed it.

Another simple technology is intensive fruit tree based gardens. Many rural areas have big mud covered compounds yet go hungry as they can not afford food, which with proper training could be designed to provide food sustainably and an assured income for many years to come.

If  every farmer is given atleast 20 fruit trees to plant round the home  or house eg, oranges, mangoes. These trees will take a period of atleast five years to mature but the benefits will be long term.  They  are also given an anual crop like bananas , pinapples to plant along which are of a medium duration. Short duration crops like vegetables, melons, tomatoes, carrots, herbs are also grown along and poultry.We will find that the farmer not only has a  income coming in in every quarter of the year but there is income security and more than enough food productionto feed the household and surplus for sale. Permaculture tools should be employed. with the profits farmers with more land will use the skills learnt to expand their farms.

Natural home building techniques.  The skills of adobe brick, rammed earth building technique should be revived and also improved technologies taught. In our rush for an improved way of life, we have forgotten the enviroment to its disadvantage. Bamboo technologies used in the far east should be employed. Bamboo has many uses from acting as pvc pipes, timber for construction , floors, roofing, handcrafts.  These technologies are absent where needed most and we intend to change that.  Here is an example of some Adobe technologies that can be applied to areas in northern Uganda and in central Uganda, the roof may be cemented. http://www.lavoutenubienne.org

Earthbaging is one of those easy technologies that can enable families in rural areas build houses that are presentable, that can accommodate all family members in their own spaces and help prevent  the easy spread of diseases that occurrs in overcrowded houses. The builders learn the skills which they can use to earn a living. 

Not to be forgotten is the precious value addition on all farming. If atleast  each village had  a maize mill, nut sheller, banana fibre extractor, briquette maker , wood working machine, bamboo weaving and roofing technology, Hatchery, solar driers, biogas plants. These make lives easier but save the farmer alot of transport money to it else where.

With all these crops grown the farmers can sell the produce together in a marketing cooperative that ensures they are paid reasonably and not cheated by the middleman. Contracts will be easier to be secured when it is proven that their is adequate supply of the crops by the supermarkets and markets.

Water is another problem faced by rural dwellers. We intend to use  affordable hand well drilling techology to be able to provide farmers with a constant water supply on their farms.  we believe that this will free up time spent on fetching water to provide better sustainable agriculture through drip irrigation  hence improve yields even in the dry  season.

After the 5 year period each family can then start contributing something towards building the health centres (ensuring there are enough anti malarial drugs ) so lives arent lost unncessarily, better maternity care.

 It is vital too that markets are first established in the community itself  like schools for food and briquetts.

We have chosen such a project as it is not just a business but it goes hand in hand with community development as a whole, no one left behind( orphans in child headed homes).  After the first 5 yrs we discuss where we see needs work but the one major issue of hunger, malnutrition due to poverty will be in the past for the village.