This program promotes environment friendly farm enterprises that both earn income to local people, preserve the environment as well and support social well being among communities.  Through small scale farm businesses such as livestock rearing, vegetable growing and craft making women and youth earn incomes that support their families and provides for their basic needs.

A typical rural woman will spend most of her time looking for firewood to make meals for her family, fetching water and looking after their children and husband. This means that they entirely rely on their husbands for a living since they don’t have any employable skills and thus live in very poor conditions in their communities and can’t support their families on their own. 

This program empowers rural women and youth to engage in productive smallholder environment friendly enterprises such as paper bag making, knitting, hand craft making from waste material and others besides their farming activities to earn an extra income besides their domestic work. The integration of livestock such as piggery, goats and poultry with crop farming on smallholder farm lands supports healthier and more stable soils which supports increased farm productivity.

• Unemployment among rural women and youth.
• Poverty among farmer families that can’t afford their subsistence basic needs at some point in life.
• The high prevalence of domestic valance which always lead to loss of established enterprises in farmer families.

We are working with community groups to improve their skills in small scale businesses for as this is the only way for rural people to help themselves out of poverty.

We have established a small computer training center in Luteete village to give basic computer skills to young women and other community people who want to get these skills.

Three women’s groups have been supported with material to make hand craft products such as handbags, paper beads, mats and others. More women have picked interest in the enterprise and make the products from their homes and later market them collectively through their groups.

Through smallholder vegetable growing in kitchen gardens, some women are now able to earn some income from the selling the vegetables in the community.

As a volunteer, you will closely work with the people to support and boost the entrepreneurial spirit that the local people have towards helping themselves out of poverty.

If you have got skills in organic farming and animal husbandry you’re welcome to share sustainable farming skills that increase productivity of smallholder farms for increased farm incomes.

For those who are interested in other activities such as craft making, computer skills among young women and youth who are unemployed and need these skills to earn an income to sustain their livelihoods you're also welcome in this program.

Your roles as a Village Enterprise Assistant.

Sharing business skills with the women so they can improve their small scale farm businesses and other side businesses. If you have skills in product improvement and record keeping or business sustainability, share them with the local entrepreneurs to make their businesses more profitable.

Train the women or youths in basic computer skills so that they can be able to use these skills to earn a living in life. The skills can help a young woman start a small village stationery shop.

 You can as well share marketing skills with the women/youth to get better market for their products both locally and internationally. This would mean higher profits from their products.

You can as well fundraise to support a farmer family to start a small farm enterprise such as rearing local chicken, start a goat or a pig rearing enterprise.  

Have you got any drama or acting skills? The drama skits made by the youth are used to raise awareness in the community on issues affecting the community such as domestic violence and HIV/AIDS in an educative and entertaining way. These issues are the main issues in destroying the established enterprises in families. Help the group to improve their skits or direct their next show.

Sensitise the community about basic human rights and best ways how to end domestic violence against women and its effects to development.

Your workplace surroundings.

Volunteers will be working in a rural setting with wonderful people especially women and youth working to improve their living conditions through small enterprises.

The area has good internet access however, you will need a personal computer because the people you will be working with may not have computers. The area is close to places where you can access internet cafes in case you need this service.

You will be staying with one of our host families in the community where you will be working, our host families are wisely selected and they speak English so, you won’t have any language barriers with them.

In this location is about 12 minutes drive to Masaka town which is an urban center where you will be able to do some more cool free time activities

Volunteers are expected stay for at least one week, be willing to live and work with local people in a rural community.

Uganda is one of the most gifted countries with beautiful weather conditions, so you won’t need any special wear. However you’re encouraged to have longer skirts or shorts since what you may consider to be normal wear in a western culture may be considered too short in the culture of the local people you will be working with.

When you arrive in Uganda, we will be waiting for you in Entebbe and we will go with you to our operation area in Lwengo near Masaka.

On arrival, you will be introduced to important places such as restaurants, internet cafes, hospitals/ medical centers, get cultural orientation about the local people and introductory classes to basics of the local language so that you can get some of what locals will be saying and speak to them too!