I am Natalie Davenport, born in Malawi (Africa) and based in Bali where I have been learning about bamboo building for the past six years and have formed a company here (Bamboo Creative Bali).  Joel Odongo (the founder of TANU) reached out to me initially over two years ago asking for assistance to build this community project centred around helping his community create sustainable livelihoods and enterprises - having already been granted the land for this project and having established TANU Community Organisation in Uganda. I agreed to do what I could to help and we have had ongoing meetings and discussions about the TANU project...

Joel Odongo, who grew up as an Orphan in Siroti in Uganda, has set a path as a Community Leader to help Local Youth and Women (single mothers) to build a Community Centre and Syntropic Agroforestry Farming Project incorporating Bamboo Production and Plastic Recycling to help his Community to rise out of poverty.

Joel was sponsored as a child to attend school and went on to attend and complete IT at University level - He wants to help his Community to work together to establish a sustainable syntropic farm and build a Learning Centre for Sustainable Farming which will connect with other community in surrounding regions to teach and share with others about building sustainability, restoring environmental resilience through incresing food and nutritional security by learning and applying syntropic farming principles.

We have started programs for building smokeless stoves in people's homes, and also a program to collect organic waste and show women how to make it into charcoal and form briquettes to use for cooking fuel (which has been achieved at a small scale but could be expanded with some larger/better basic equipment to make the process more efficient). We have investigated what bamboos are growing locally and how we can begin the cultivation of bamboo that can be used for construction and also for firewood purposes - and we have connected with other organisations and groups about growing seedlings for revegetation and incorporating syntropic agroforestry principles and techniques to create a long-term sustainability.

This project will develop with the support/guidance of Bamboo Creative Bali to: 

Stage 1

1. Bring together the Youth to build a community building where they may continue to hold meetings and education programs and activities. (Joel has been renting a space in a local building for their meetings up until now for the past 2-3 years prior to Covid which is no longer viable)

2. Fund the purchase and installation of a solar powered pump for the well to enable water supply to the farming area and building.

3.Build a Nursery to establish seedlings

4. Enable local single mothers to farm and grow produce and work as a collective to produce products to sell in the local market

5. Purchase production equipment to create a social enterprise for briquette-making (a charcoal fuel substitute made from agricultural/organic waste)

6. Purchase seed for vegetables, fruit trees and bamboo varieties for reforestation and fuel to plant on the TANU Community Land and around the village.

Stage 2

7. Establish a Learning Centre to continue projects towards the empowerment of the Women and Youth members - and to help train others and make a school for sharing knowledge and enabling other community organisations in surrounding regions to benefit 

8. Host a Syntropic Agroforestry Workshops  for TANU members with Jackson Buzingo (Syntropic Agroforestry Advisor from Tanzania) and Extension Officers from the Bamboo Resource Centre, a social enterprise organisation in Kenya who will be providing bamboo seedlings for the project. 

9. Increase public education, reduce the need for deforestation and unsustainable cutting of trees for firewood; improve standard of living for local people and create local circular economic benefits.

Stage 3

10. Create opportunities for people with disabilities to be part of daily farming activities and music with friendly people in a natural community setting.

11. Bring Bamboo Building Skills and help educate/develop building methods using bamboo as a renewable sustainable material and establish its growth and production.

Since our first meetings, Covid has added some challenges, slowing progress on this project - Joel has also had Malaria and Typhoid in the past months though is still fighting and staying strongly committed to seeing this project unfold. We have connected with Jackson Buzingo in Tanzania who has offered to assist in training people in Syntropic Agroforestry for this project - which we have set for June-July 2022 in time for the August growing season (Uganda has 2 main growing seasons: February and August). And the Kenyan Bamboo Resource Centre - who are able to supply bamboo seedlings and would like to also send 5 of their extension officers to be trained in syntropic agroforestry when Jackson comes to run the training program.

In Kenya, we will focus in two communities - Rwambwa Bridge Community which is affected by perennial floods affecting about 12,000 households. The second Community is Ndhiwa which has been a food basket that is now affected by climate change leading to erratic rains that has greatly affected productivity.

Joel had asked that I come there to advise on how to make buildings incorporating bamboo and recycling plastic waste - which I will be honoured to do at stage 3 of this project. For now I would like to help facilitate what is needed to progress the stage 1 and 2 of this project and continue gathering resources and advisory team members to refine the vision and achieve objectives and to help the project establishment through raising the main building (Community Centre) and plant nursery. Once the first stage is successfully established, Stage 2 will be to consult with Jackson and to conduct the training for Syntropic Farming and establishing syntropic farming areas on the TANU community land  (assisting extensions officers from Kenya Bamboo Resource Centre to attend) . Stage 3 will occur when the bamboo resources are established (3-4 years or earlier if we have access to mature bamboo) when we can share practically about bamboo building and host a Bamboo Building Course in Uganda... at TANU - or possibly earlier in Kenya if it's feasible with the Kenyan Bamboo Resource Centre where bamboo is already being planted by local farmers for varying purposes. (NB The Kenyan Bamboo Resource Centre has asked to join the syntropic training due to the current circumstances in their region near Niagara Falls where flooding, caused by deforestation and climate change, is destroying farms and livelihoods and people are in need of a new form of agriculture that works with nature, prevents erosion and  creates robust food forestry systems). 

In the short to medium term I will be assisting Joel and his group to set up a "Seeds" Local Economy to enable people's contribution to be "recorded" and acknowledged in a way which fits the needs of the people in the local community - and to also learn from them as a tribal group about Community Governance. This is part of a wider project to begin a process to create a template which could be used  by those wishing to transition towards living Regeneratively and we look forward to building our team through this project and gathering more people who are committed to changing the culturally dominant mindset which perpetuates poverty and inequality and the ongoing and arguably inescapable financial "status" of post-colonised countries and through it, transform it towards an equitable economic system and attract co-investors in time/energy, labour, finance, skills and resources. 

(Layout Sketch for community farm, buildings and bamboo plantation area)

(Natural Shea Butter from local Shea Palm - a potential local product and partner export)

The TANU community have already made more than 20,000 mud bricks over the last dry season with which to construct the community building and Joel has compiled the costing of what is needed to raise the community centre building area and project facility consisting of:

1.Materials to Build the community centre building (sand, rock, cement, Iron, timber fittings (window frames and doors), plaster, metal, misc items (nails, glue fixtures), plumbing and basic solar lamps US$2780

2. Materials and equipment needed to establish the nursery for planting seedlings, irrigation and establishing plants ready for a Training Program delivery in June 2022 US$450

3. Equipment: a Solar powered Pump and pipes and fittings to enable efficient delivery of water from the well to the nursery and farming area and save hours in manual water transportation. US$850

4. Equipment needed for making briquettes (bigger drums and press equipment) US$65

5. Meals and transport for materials $800

6. 3 Smart Phones for documenting progress with Youth Program and training to make a Youtube Channel $420

7. Miscellaneous Equipment and Funds for assisting start-up business projects $600

Stage 1 TOTAL: US$5965

The Local Youth and Women's group will provide all labour for building the community building  and daily meals and refreshment will be covered by the funding (prepared in the community). 

Stage 2  costing will be finalsed when Transport and PCR test pricing stabilises and with salary for Jackson Buzzingo, we estimate US$3000 costing and sponsorship for Kenyan Extension Officers attendance US$1890 

We would love your support on this journey to empower Joel and members of TANU with the skills and basic infrastructure and equipment needed to start building sustainable livelihoods; Knowledge and education is key, but without basic equipment, technology and tools it is extremely difficult to make progress. I believe strongly in doing everything we can at this crucial time to empower those who still have agrarian skills and work closely with the land to become empowered in terms of access to technology and have access to resources to create Regenerative villages.  Your contribution can have a huge effect to impact Joel's community with the ability to grow food more easily and be less reliant on outside income... improve initiatives to practice sustainability in livelihoods and building local businesses and circular trade economies. 

You can read more about the project  at www.bamboocreative.org/outreach

and follow our progress (updates will be posted here, on the website and there may be a Facebook Page or Youtube Channel emerge in the coming months so watch out for Transformation Advocacy Network Uganda!!!  

Community Building Plan/Layout

Some local bamboos

Thank you for your generosity and spirit to give to this project and we welcome you to join us in Uganda, farm with us, learn about our culture and sample simple healthy cuisine fresh from the farm garden.