Future Generations Graduate School Video

The video features Future Generations Graduate School Alumni -

• Joy Bongyereire 
• KellyBrown
• Mavis Windsor
• James Patterson

BCRD-Uganda Assistant Team Leader becomes an ACCFP Policy Research Fellow!

It is Triple Merry and lots of Satisfaction at BCRD-Uganda!

Following the May 2011 call for applications for the ACCFP (African Climate Change Fellowship Programme) by the global change SysTem for Analysis, Research & Training (START) and other partners, BCRD-Uganda’s Assistant Team Leader, Natwijuka Seth Kayombo submitted his application, motivated by the BCRD-Uganda Team Leader. Seth was selected by the ACCFP Technical Committee (that extensively reviewed more than 170 applications) as a 2011-2012 ACCFP Policy Research Fellow! Seth’s research for the ACCFP Fellowship will assess community-based strategies for adapting to changing climatic conditions employed by the Indigenous Batwa adjacent to Echuya Forest Reserve in Kisoro District, South-western Uganda. The proposed research work on IKS (indigenous knowledge systems) is of interest to Egerton University, Kenya to which Seth has been matched as Host Institution where he’ll execute his Fellowship project and activities. The proposed research work is equally of interest to the Fellow’s home institution, BCRD-Uganda since we work with smallholders and Indigenous Batwa of the Central Albertine rift. Additionally, as BCRD-Uganda, we believe in research as the engine of development for evidence-based decision making and planning.

ACCFP Fellowships provide experiential learning, education, research and training opportunities to African professionals, researchers and graduate students to enhance their capabilities for advancing and applying knowledge for climate change adaptation in Africa. The ACCFP rounds are managed by the Institute of Resource Assessment at the University of Dar Es Salaam (IRA-UDSM) and implemented in partnership with START with funding from Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA). In June 2011, Seth was accepted into the Future Generations Graduate School, Class of 2013 Master’s Degree Program. Indeed, this is triple satisfaction for the young but growing CBO (community-based organizations) where we think globally and act locally. BCRD-Uganda strives to become a learning organization where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together. As development practitioners, we value staff capacity development to keep pace with the dynamic community development needs.

Seth was a beneficiary of the 2010 Education and Training Program on Climate Change and Biodiversity Conservation in the Albertine Rift Region of Africa, organized by START and IRA-UDSM with financial support provided by the MacArthur Foundation. The program had six-master level credits and benefited early to mid-career conservation researchers and practitioners from Albertine Rift countries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The fellowship was a great learning experience and benefited the fellow as well as home institution. The Externship Research conducted by Seth and other Ugandan fellows from the Uganda Wildlife Authority, Luweero District Local Government, and WWF-Rwenzori Region Mountains Conservation and Environment Management Project hinged on the “Community and Park management adaptation and Mitigation strategies to the Impacts of climatic variability and climate change: A case study of Queen Elizabeth National Park ecosystem-Uganda.” Seth shared with us information pertaining to the educational program as well as the great research experience and skills learned from the Externship Research Supervisor, Dr. Julius Lejju of Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) and Ugandan colleagues with whom the fellowship and externship research were done. Seth learned that there are no CSOs to facilitate community development related projects with Queen Elizabeth National Park adjacent communities especially in Rubirizi District. BCRD-Uganda is thinking about filling the gap.

         Here are some pictures of Seth while in Dar es Salaam last year for the Education and Training Program on Climate Change and Biodiversity Conservation in the Albertine Rift Region.

Seth with other fellows that benefited from the Educational and Training Program in 2010 at the IRA-UDSM

A health best practice adopted from the IRA-UDSM.

Seth reflecting on the Wonders of Nature in front of a beautiful waterfall.

BCRD-Uganda Achievements

In line with our mission “To contribute to poverty alleviation by facilitating activities of grassroots’ farmers’ groups/associations to undertake community–based projects geared towards Natural Resources Management, Regeneration and Conservation”, BCRD-Uganda is implementing various projects as enlisted below:

1.     “Moving Forward in a Changing Climate: Poverty Reduction through Sustainable Environmental Management (PRESEM)”: This project is funded by the African technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) donors including the Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken (DGIS), the Netherlands among others.  The strategic goal of the project is to support implementation of the ATPS Climate Sense program under the African Women’s Forum for Science and Technology (AWFST) Climate Change Innovation Program. The project aims at restoring degraded hills of Gihimbi and Gishori hills in Kisoro District, SW Uganda for healthy ecosystems and improved livelihoods of the local smallholder farmers. The project promotes the growing of highly valued essential oil herbs and grasses, fruit and agro forestry trees on the bare hills as a means of combating climate change, other direct and indirect benefits.

Gishori Hill communities i.e. Murambi Village residents preparing to draw a village map on the ground during the community action planning (CAP) exercise with BCRD-Uganda staffs

A devastated banana plantation by the BBW (banana bacterial wilt) disease in Gishori Hill area (Murambi village). This has rendered households food insecure in banana growing sub-counties

Murambi Village nice people getting the explanations about the essence of village resource mapping from Natwijuka Seth kayombo

Dissemination of baseline survey findings to Gihimbi Village Communities in Busanza Sub-county

Dissemination of baseline survey findings for PRESEM Project at Gihimbi Trading Centre

BCRD-Uganda Team Leader, Joy Bongyereire stresses a point to Gihimbi people at Gihimbi Ingobyi (Local Ambulance) Group House after the discussions on SWOT Analysis and Community Visioning

Gihimbi Village Resource Map on a Flip Chart

Julius and his brother inquisitive on Resource Mapping. Young people play a vital role in Agricultural Research and Rural Development

  

2.     “Development of Integrated Solar Tunnel Driers for Drying Fish along the Shores of Lake Victoria”: This project was implemented under the Lake Victoria Research Initiative (VicRes), coordinated by the Inter-University Council for East Africa. The aim of the project was to develop driers that use solar energy indirectly to dry fish, hence combating climate change by reducing the rate of use of fuel wood energy to smoke fish.

Men at work: Mulefu and Brown making a gate the solier drier prototypes site at Kamaliba Landsing site to pevent theft and spoilage by kids, drunken people and grazing animals

Solar tunnel drier with one part covered with glass and another one open to compare the dried prodcucts. A solar tent drier with cyclones on top to enhance the drying rate and covered with UV material

solar tent drier and open tunnnel drier with a clean try made from wood and wire mesh

Dried silver fish iside a solar tent drier

Ecosun toilet in the background provided by Mpigi District Local Government to enhance propoer solid waste disposal at Kamaliba landing Beach and good sanitation

Tunnel drier under construction

Environmental Refugees with loads of cattle at the Landing Site in search of grass and water for the animals. This has exercebated environmental degradation. BCRD-Uganda advocates for sustainable farming practices such as zero grazing and paddocking

Tent drier under construction. Appreciation goes to Prof. Douglas Shitanda of the Jommo Kenyatta university of Agriculture and technology who worked had in hand with the Ugandan Research Scientists (Social Scientist), Joy and Local Artisans from Kamaliba and Lukaya Trading Center to have the experiements accomplished.

With Kamaliba Landing Site residents, including the Chairperson of the Landing Site Mr. Okendo, a Kenyan

Joy with kids at Kamaliba after sensitizing them on the value of going higher and higher in education

Work without play makes anybody dull. Joy in love with the environment and smiling for Kamaliba residents for preserving wetlands

Shacks as stores for fish. A lot needs to be done to improve the conditions of the fisher folks in the Lake Victoria Basin

Joy with wonderful kids at Kamaliba Landing Beach. They are all healthy due to good feeding - fish and sweet potatoes

Community initiatives to  add value to dry sardines by packaging them in white polythene papers

Joy with Pauline Namulondo, daughter to Jane Nabakyara Mr. Okendo, the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson respectively for Kamaliba Landing Site

Joy wth Brown's family at the same site

Driers and fence, with kids seen playing in the background

3.     “Peace building among Echuya Forest Adjacent Communities in Kisoro District, SW Uganda”: The project is funded by the European Union (EU) and Ireland Aid through Minority Rights Group International (MRG). The project targets indigenous Pygmies (Batwa) and non-Batwa living adjacent to Echuya Central Forest Reserve in Kisoro District as well as local leaders and civil society organizations in the project area. 

Joy at one of the households of a member of Kagano Turwanyubukene Society after administering a questionnaire

Some people that turned up for the KADECA dialogue meeting at Echuya Community Resource Centre

Joy facilitates at the meeting

Bamboo, a valuable resource from Echuya Central Forest Reserve but under high threat due to increase in withdrawal of dry and green bamboo

Gitebe people carry a patient on a local stretcher

Fetching water from Gikangaga wetland, the only sustainable water source

Bamboo drawn from Echuya for staking climbing beans

Nyirakaromba from Abadasigana ba Birara Batwa Group in Bukimbiri Sub-county gives a speech

Some of the Batwa that turned up for the meeting

Local stretcher for carrying patients to health units and centres

Mulindi Dufatanye Group women as they waited for more people to turn up for a FGD at Gifumba Trading Centre

CFM (collaborative forest management meeting at Gifumba Church of Uganda

Alex Tusingwire, former KADECA Chairperson registers participants

4.     “Advancing New Innovations of Managing HIV/AIDS and Climate Change through Diary Goats in Kisoro District, South-western Uganda”:  This project is supported by the Orskov Foundation. HIV/AIDS Groups in Nyakabande Sub-county, Kisoro District will directly benefit from the project.  The project goal is to contribute to the improvement of livelihoods in households of PLWHA and ensure environmental sustainability through diary goat farming, agro forestry practices and mainstreaming of other cross-cutting issues. 

Diary goat milk is good for people with HIV/AIDS

A goat reared in a shed like this one prevents the goat from hazards of nature and enhances proper growth as well as production of big ilk volumes

A diary goat ponders as it rests in her shed

Mainstreaming of agro forestry in the diary goat projects ensures provision of quality feeds for the goat as well as soil fertility management

With good nutrition, HIV/AIDS can be managed without the use of ARVs

The integration of agro forestry can as well provide bean stakes to realise good bean harvests from a small plot of land

Climbing beans are grown in Kisoro due to limited cultivable land

5.     “Community and Park management Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies to the Impacts of Climatic Variability and Climate Change. A case Study of Queen Elizabeth National Park Ecosystem-Uganda”: This was an externship research carried out by the BCRD-Uganda Assistant Team Leader, Natwijuka Seth Kayombo after participation in an education program on Climate Change and Biodiversity Conservation at the Institute of Resource Assessment, University of Dar es Salaam in the United Republic of Tanzania from July-Sept, 2010. Seth is in close touch with other Ugandans who participated in the course as well as with the instructors at the UDSM to ensure their work is published to benefit a wide range of development practitioners across the globe. 

In 2011, BCRD-Uganda’s goals involve increasing visibility, contributing to sustainable management of natural resources and community development in Uganda as well as the Albertine Rift Region. The founders of BCRD-Uganda believe in thinking globally and acting locally. Prior to establishing the CBO, BCRD-Uganda co-founders worked with Africa 2000 Network-Uganda. The Team Leader, Joy Bongyereire is a 2008 AWARD (African Women in Agricultural Research and Development) Fellow, a VicRes Research Scientist and a 2009 Davis Peace Prize winner.