Thursday, September 20, 2012

KYONGERA FARM


About Kyongera Farm

Kyongera Farm is another Bringing Hope to the Family Project.

This small 20 hectare block of land is located 8 kilometers from the main village of Kaihura, providing food and education to the Home Again orphans and staff.


Pineapple plantation at Kyongera farm

The boys at Kyongera were serving themselves with
 lunch which is green  banana grown at the farm

The main purpose of the farm is to produce quality fruit and vegetables for the Home Again Orphanage.  With anywhere from 40 to 80 children being feed three meals a day, the food costs for the Orphanage are always high, and nutrition is very important for growing children.  The usual diet for a Ugandan family is Posho and beans.  By growing a variety of different fruits and vegetables it is possible to increase the nutritional value of the food served to the children.  Currently the farm has vegetable crops of cassava, carrots, cabbages, green beans, tomatoes, egg plants, onions and maize.  As well as tropical fruits such as guava, green and yellow bananas, pineapples, oranges and papaya.

The secondary purpose of the farm is to educate young people and also the surrounding community members with agricultural knowledge and practical skills. Most of these students have not performed well in formal education and are suited better to practical learning.  During the school term the students stay at the farm together in a dormitory.  The skills learned at the farm enable the students to return to their village and establish their own income generating activities.  

Dormitory for the students at the farm
Carpentry workshop at the farm



Recently a large plantation of coffee bean trees has been planted, which when matured in 3 to 4 years will provide an income to the project.  In the future there are plans to expand the buildings and the overall size of the farm to include the Dorcas Vocational school.