In 2017, we planted 1500 coffee trees at Kihembe Community Vocational Secondary School (KCVSS) as part of our commitment towards sustainability. The idea was to provide the school with a sustainable income generating source, independent of fee-paying students, which could allow the school management committee to buy essential scholastic materials, textbooks and teacher resources that would improve the quality of education delivered at the school. Three years on, we’re delighted that the first crop of coffee is ready to be harvested later this year. We aren’t expecting a great deal, but we’re thrilled that we’re taking a step in the right direction. We decided that we wanted to grow only organic coffee and avoided all pesticides and fertilisers. While we’re...
At the start of June, we donated £175.00 to our partners, The Zuri Project Uganda, to support development projects in a coffee growing region in Uganda. After consultation with our Ugandan partners, we've decided that this money will be used to facilitate a process known as 'gap filling' at our coffee plantation at Kihembe Community Vocational Secondary School. Since we opened our doors in 2017, we're proud to say that we've planted 1500 coffee trees at the school site as part of our commitment to sustainable community development in Uganda. We're growing our coffee organically, and due to unavoidable challenges such as pests and too much sunshine due to climate change, many of the trees that we've planted have died....
Martyrs day is a big deal in Uganda, with many people literally walking across the country to celebrate and commemorate. However due to COVID19, this year's Martyrs day will be noticeably different. Ugandans are very religious in general and Martyrs day is a day where Christians come together to remember the persecution and ultimate murder of Christians who were put to death for their religious beliefs between the period of November 1885 and December 1887. Given the significance of the term 'martyr' - many Ugandans celebrate June 3rd as a way of respecting the fact that throughout history, many believers preferred death to the renunciation of their religious beliefs. Even if you're not religious, I believe there's an important lesson...
We thought that we'd bring you some good news from The Zuri Project. In spite of being locked down by COVID-19, the team in Uganda managed to build a new kitchen at Kishunju Nursery & Primary School. Read on to hear more about it! Just before the nationally enforced lock down due to COVID-19 began, our team in Uganda were busy constructing a new kitchen block at Kishunju Nursery and Primary School. Back at the beginning of March, we held a meeting at Kishunju with the board members of the school, the teaching staff and members of the PTA to listen to their concerns and to learn about their priorities for the school going forward. The meeting was fruitful and...
I've seen reports on various media sources about UK nationals being 'stranded' in various locations across the world, including Uganda. Although I may be categorised in that bracket, I certainly wouldn't say I'm stranded! Uganda is a beautiful place at the best of times and during this lockdown, the peace and tranquility of the Ugandan countryside has been grounding. It seems that COVID-19 has effected almost every country on earth and Uganda is no exception. Although there are comparatively few cases here when compared to the US, UK and other parts of Europe, the lockdown measures imposed by the government have been strict and long. Being forced to stay at home (for the majority of the time) hasn't been all...
