History of Amasiko continued

My girls had a clear picture of the situation of the girls we should help: Orphaned or only one parent, mainly from rural areas, and due to lack of funding, unable to finish any professional education. And this group is big! Uganda has universal primary education and many girls manage to go to a rural primary school and follow a few years of secondary school. Know more or less how to read and write, speak some English. But with this level of education, they are unable of getting a job. Choices are few, either staying alone (taking care of other siblings) or getting married at early age. And unfortunately some are also ending up in abuse and or prostitution.

So what could we do?

Uganda has orphanages where many orphans are supported and send to school, often up to 18 years and allowed to finish A-level. But once again there is often no gainful employment! So for us this was not the way to go.

Finally we agreed to focus on girls who stopped schooling end of primary school, or somewhere in secondary school. In rural areas these girls remain often in real poverty.

As women are doing the major work in agriculture, training in sustainable agriculture, hygiene, sanitation and some simple business skills should help these girls to improve on their lives and make them even self-reliant. Moreover it will spread those skills within the community and could have a positive impact on poverty reduction, making agriculture more sustainable and increase environmental awareness in the area.

Another important consideration is that Africa had a very strong social security net based on extended families. This net seems to break down which leaves many people in dire situations. How could we build our project on those African traditional values of living together and caring for each other? Can we build a place for communal living based on African traditions without falling into a communist system? And how to make it a self supporting place without being dependent on continuous outside funding?

And last but not least how to make such a community self-sufficient and independent from permanent outside funding?

After termination of my contract in 2004, I spent several months Europe, which gave me ample time to read and develop some of my interests.

Two topics became very exciting:

1. Reading, learning and experiencing how some communities are experimenting and developing social, economic and ecological sustainable forms of living. I had a chance to visit an interesting place in the Vosges in France called ECOlonie. Interestingly members of ECOlonie are exactly doing what we discussed in Kabale: Self reliance, sustainable self-sufficiency and a no nonsense business approach. An interesting place which is now part of our network.

2. Having a painful injury which doctors were not able to find a relief for, I started searching into healing. Finally I came in touch with The Journey. This became an interesting experience and after undergoing some inner journeys, the injury healed. I realised that these inner journeys are a way of working on past negative experiences and could therefore be useful for my girls and their companions.

Back in Uganda I discussed all with my girls and we started looking for a spot to start an organic farm and eco-lodge. And it is just unbelievable: From 1999 to 2004 I passed for my work on a small road along Lake Bunyonyi. Every time I a saw a beautiful peninsula. And at this time of seeking a land, the point was put up for sale!!! We went for it and bought one small plot with some trees and two local mud and wattle houses.

The project was taking off!


That's our first property! One acre of land, some 15 trees, two mud and wattle houses and a pit latrine.