Welcomed by the green lush environment one would have never guessed that behind the tall green scenery was an actual farm. With well maintained short grass and with sound of birds chirruping in the air it felt like home.
This farm sits on about 3.5 acres of land and not only centers on farming and different agricultural practices but is also serves as a training center for students who are interested in learning about organic agriculture, animal husbandry as well as metal works.
From small kitchen gardening, piggery, goat rearing, poultry, rabbit rearing and others St Jude family project has become a source of knowledge and expertise for those who seek to more about understanding how to ‘Feed the soil, so that the soil can in return feed you’
Starting out
St Jude Family project which is located in Masaka District, founded by Josephine Kizza and her Late husband John Kizza. The main focus of this project is practice agroecology which simply means good and healthy farming practices. The farm sits on about 3.5 acres of land.
As their slogan states ‘Feed the soil so that the soil can feed you’ St Jude Family Project started with humble beginnings and slowly but surely is they have risen to greater heights and sustainability.
With only two piglets that they were able to secure from a relative the couple were able to save up enough for a heifer. This was a big milestone for then but little did they know that from the two small piglets and the heifer they had acquired they would be able to reap big. From a heifer they were able to start a poultry project.
As months passed by it occurred to both Josephine and John that Agriculture is something they together had to priotise as a way of life. A smart decision I must say, as they sat one afternoon the couple heard and advertisement on the radio about a work shop that was mainly focused on organic farming. Josephine was determined to go and learn and then return and share expertise with her husband.
The two of them couldn’t afford to go for the training together and thus agreed that Josephine would go and return
‘It was big decision we had to make, we had only one bicycle by that time meaning only one of us could go. I was determined to go learn and gain all the knowledge I needed and then in return my husband was to be my first student,” Josephine narrates.
Josephine says she went and attended a three-hour workshop on composting. The team leader at that time was a woman from the UK, she purposed to move around the neighborhoods to evaluate if any of the attendee’s were able to put into practice what they had learnt.
As she made her rounds, to her surprise or one may say the lucky stars were in Josephine’s household, she found Josephine teaching three neighbors how to carry out the compost process.
Inspired by Josephine’s and John’s enthusiasm about organic farming, she offered to sponsor Josephine for 2 years of further training in the U.K. Her husband once again permitted her to go ahead and study.
“My study in the UK was fruitful I learnt so much and was excited to share the knowledge and expertise I had gained with my husband. I am grateful that I had a partner that allowed me get to my full potential bust also trusted that I was doing what was best for the family. Upon my return is shared my skills with just not my husband but the community at large. For me to able to attach value to the wisdom I was sharing I needed to at least put in place a training fee. To my surprise it was a turn up and the framers I trained went back and carried out some of these practices on their farm,” She narrates with smile spread across her face.
After returning from the United Kingdom, Josephine was able to greatly add value to the plot of land that they had acquired but also a plot where they could train those that might be interested in learning more about organic agriculture.
Today St Jude Family project remains an institution that speaks to good farming practices that protect the soil but at the same time a source of income. St Jude Family project to date employs over 30 employees also provides educational training to those interested in learning about organic agriculture.
John died in 2005 after suffering a stroke, but Josephine and the remainder of her family have carried on the work. Several of Josephine’s children are directly involved in the work and have all been educated through the fruits and effort at St Jude.
Agroecology is said to be the foundation of sustainable agriculture. It is the practice and science of applying ecological concepts, knowledge, and principles to the design and management of sustainable farms. It provides us with a robust set of solutions to environmental and economic pressures that are faced by agriculture today.
Kitchen Gardening
One of the things that stood out during this trip on understanding Agro-ecology was the kitchen gardening where there is growing of fruits and vegetables at the backyard of house, or near the kitchen side by using kitchen waste water.
The farmers here say that regardless of where you put it kitchen gardens are relatively small in size depending on what one hopes to achieve.
Ranging from carrots, cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, beetroot, and others all these can be planted in your kitchen garden. A good way to start a kitchen garden is by portioning your space into squares or rectangles. Each section can then be allocated to a specific type of vegetable, herb or plant.
Before you get started, it is important to know the difference between a kitchen garden and a vegetable garden.
A kitchen garden is a small, compact space, located close to the house (ideally near the kitchen) where you can quickly nip out to get herbs, tomatoes, salad greens and others to use while cooking. Vegetable gardens, on the other hand, are usually more expanded and growing of the vegetables is on a large scale.
One of the care takers who also doubles as a student share some of the advantages of kitchen gardening.
‘‘These gardens are small but quite handy and you are assured of fresh vegetables right outside your kitchen window. It definitely does save on the cost of buying vegetables on a daily basis from the market,’’ Ketra Lubowa, one of the workers on the farm narrates.
Some of the other related benefits of practicing kitchen gardening include; Protects health, Saves money, Fights off food insecurity, Reduces stress, Increased nutrients, Contributes to sustainable living.
When you grow your own kitchen garden, you decide what goes into the soil and plants be it natural fertilizers, good quality compost, organic seeds or natural pesticides.
Piggery
Not only are pigs consumed as pork but their droppings are also good for manure. Piggery is one of the fastest growing livestock activities in Uganda and is a means of increasing food, income and employment. Uganda is among the largest per capita consumers of pork in sub-Saharan Africa.
Before you start a piggery farm you need to look at different things like the money you have, space and a clear plan on how you are going to manage the piggery. The pig sty has to be 6 and half feet in height and 10ft by 8ft on the ground, it should be well fenced to avoid wild animals from accessing the pigs, it should also have a footbath with disinfectant mixed with water at the entrance to avoid spread of diseases.
‘‘The easiest part about rearing of pigs is they eat everything given to them as long as its edible. They should be fed on foods rich in vitamins, proteins, minerals and it should also have plenty of clean water provided to them,’’ Says David a student at St Jude Family project.