Farm

T hanks to our friend in the UK, Raphael Gordon, Starlight Family Charity has 2 1/2 acres of land outside Nasuuna village, Buzibwera parish, Kiboga, Uganda. James met Raphael many years ago when he was selling vegetables to make a living and Raphael was visiting Uganda from the UK. Already knowledgeable about organic gardening, Raphael spoke with James about his vegetables and began to mentor him about organic growing and support Starlight Family to create an organic vegetable farm. Raphael also paid for James to attend a course on organic growing in Uganda so that James could share the knowledge and skills with others in the community.

The farm and garden surrounding the school and orphanage produce organic food crops to help us make sure the children in Starlight Family children’s home and at the school receive a nourishing meal. We are able to provide vegetables to families in need in the local communities as well. The farm also provides a base from which to teach children and adults how to grow a range of vegetable crops and maximise their yield in harmony with the environment. To make the best use of the land we are seeking funds to create a year round water source and to build a simple building to store tools and facilitate educational workshops. We also gratefully welcome donations of seeds such water melon, pumpkins, cabbage, tomatoes, green peppers, maize, beans, eggplants and ground nuts to help us keep the farm productive. We already saving some seeds from our crops for replanting and in the not too distant future we hope to establish a community seed bank to enable people who cannot afford seed to access seed to grow their own crops.

COVID-19 update: unprecedented events resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic mean that food security is even more important than ever for the children and vulnerable adults who are supported by Starlight Family. In 2020 we have been able to rent a piece of land close to the school and orphanage site and although we have a lockdown and curfew imposed on us we are busy growing organic crops such as beans and sweet potatoes.

All about how the farm started and the plans for improvement
Planting the school garden to improve food security

Local youths learning about growing cassava at the organic farm
Grateful for all of the kind seed donations helping us to feed the children

James and the children harvest the beans grown in the orphanage garden. They will be used to feed the school children and children at the orphanage.