Ripple Effect Farming for the Future

Nanyakxico Here it This is my milk My name is Ariza Kogutu and way back when I was in high school My parents were able to join. a group that was working I share a great deal of knowledge. I assist countless community farmers so that they can produce more food. They can learn effective methods of farming and, more importantly, improving the quality of the soil. Because I noticed that the greatest challenge farmers were facing Number one is lack of knowledge and the deteriorating soils in our area. The compost basket also helps the soil retain more water. I first came to Uganda 25 years ago for a couple of months. The reason I came was because I had simply had enough of people telling me I suppose I've been farming organically for 15 years. It's all very well for you rich white people, but it's never going to feed the world, is it? So I thought I'd go and see for myself in sub-Saharan Africa, where it really matters. I started meeting a few people who were practicing what we now call agro-ecological farming. these very complex, quite small farms, normally less than two acres where they might have had 50 crops growing and 10 different types of livestock. They all fit together perfectly and it was mimicking nature. I just felt like I'd actually arrived. It was really exciting. This was the way I wanted to farm. Before meeting the Ripple Effect, I was just a farmer with no technology. No precautions were taken before the Ripple Effect entered my life. Let me say, with all the information the Ripple Effect has given me, I am capable of being sustainable. With or without a very large farm, with a very small piece of land, I can be sustainable, earn income, and provide for my family without any stress. I'm so grateful. I'm absolutely delighted. So the next thing, we now want to build our walls for our keyhole garden. And our keyhole garden, the walls are three feet away from the compost basket. One, two, three. We can cut this stick. You also use your stomach. Before my parents received training, we used to sleep hungry. I know what it's like to sleep with an empty stomach. So when I see people eating the food they have grown themselves and selling some of it, I feel like my energy or my efforts aren't just being wasted. And that drives me to work even harder to reach more and more families. Here in East Africa, they are suffering the impacts of climate change. There have been droughts that we've witnessed in the riverbeds. There are downpours that are washing soil away. Farmers are finding it extremely difficult to predict the seasons. And they are experiencing both floods and droughts that they are dealing with. in striving to achieve food security for their local communities. But if you have healthy soil, you have children who know how to figure out how to do things. women who can take the lead in devising these innovative solutions, That means we can be truly resilient and incredibly strong. Smallholder farmers can actually lead the way toward global food security. in the face of what could be a global food crisis Let me say this—can I describe it as an awkward life? Because I was living without a plan. I had no plan in my life, let me say it plainly. I was specific about only one type of crop. It forced me to live an awkward kind of life. Because even earning a shilling was a problem. In our community, they believe a woman cannot own an animal or land. But now, the trainings conducted by the Ripple Effect on gender and social inclusion, From that, we emerged, I might say, victoriously. Because we changed the perspective of the community. So with my brothers, they embraced the change. and accepted me as a girl child entitled to own a portion of their farm, which had never been done before. Yeah, I was the first one. On my part, I can say that women are very important because they are significantly more social than men. One woman is capable of meeting more than a hundred people, perhaps for a training session. When you empower one woman, it's like you've empowered the entire community. You know, back then, I couldn't even face people. I couldn't even stand in front of people. But when I received the trainings from the Ripple Effect, It really helped me and changed me drastically. So for now, I'm free. Whoever comes up to me, we just talk like people.