A couple of months back, a group of eight senior businesswomen from the UK food and farming industry travelled to the remote town of Kanungu in western Uganda to face the challenge of planting 1000 trees in just three days, with the aim of raising £75,000 for Farm Africa. This, they called the “1000 Trees Challenge”
Farm Africa is a charity that works across eastern Africa, helping to reduce poverty and protect the environment in rural communities.
In Kanungu, the charity addresses the issues hindering young Ugandans from setting up profitable coffee businesses through training in coffee production and strengthening the capacity of agribusinesses and cooperatives to support coffee farmers.
During this challenge, they worked alongside local female farmers to plant 1000 fruit trees on remote farms in just three days. The trees planted included avocado, oranges and mango trees, aimed at providing shade on a total of 36 coffee farms across 80 acres.
Historically, the men would receive all the income from the women’s hard work and the income wasn’t always spent sustainably. Now, with Farm Africa’s help, the female cooperatives get paid jointly in a fund that is then spent on education for their children, clothes and healthcare, three things that are urgently needed.
Coffee is Uganda’s most valuable crop and much as it is exported across the world, the families who cultivate the crop still live in extreme poverty.
To support or learn more about this project and Farm Africa’s work, click here