#sfrome Challenges and Opportunities of engaging in a private-public partnership: The Oil Palm experience (69)

By Marieclaire Colaiacomo

The Vegetable Oil Palm Project in Uganda is now in its second phase and it is always fascinating to get a feel for just how far IFAD has stretched to touch the rural poor. This is the largest public-private partnership IFAD has ever seen and the most successful to date. Marian Bradley, CPM for UGANDA at IFAD guided us through a visual presentation today which was nothing short of spectacular.

Once importers of palm oil from Malaysia over 8000 km away, Uganda with the aid of BIDCO (private oil company) and the brokerage of IFAD who provided the financing, introduced oil palm on the island of Bugala through a unique public private partnership. IFAD acted as facilitator and mediator to ensure that the interests of the Borrower and smallholders were protected in this tripartite agreement between the Government, the private sector and farmers. It wasn’t easy Marian tells us. And the first phase was very challenging, the results have enticed smallholders who have seen their incomes increased threefold since starting to cultivate oil palm and now for the second phase farmers are anxious to join the project.

An international effort. Seedlings are imported from Costa Rica, expertise from Malaysia with financing from the private sector and IFAD – a perfect combination based on a technically solid and economically safe investment.

Establishing of the farmers trust has taken time, and there have been many field level technical challenges, like termite hills, poor soil fertility and micro-nutrient deficiencies and fertilizer scarcity at times!

How did IFAD manage? Through the establishment of a Trust that guaranteed smallholders the required protection and calculation of a fair market price for their produce. Farmers now have bank accounts, can cover their medical expenses and send their children to school!

IFAD and the way forward. To create opportunities for smallholders we need to create trust and linkages with Governments and private sector and we can only achieve this if we understand the industry we wish to operate in and the specific socio-economic and political context we find country-by-country.

#sfrome: New employment opportunity in Uganda: Transforming water hyacinth to paper (186)

By Rima Alcadi

Hyacinth, says Robert Atuhaire, is a nuisance in Uganda (and it is a nuisance also in Ghana, we are told by Ambassador Evelyn Anita Stokes-Hayford, who also participated in this session). People have difficulties navigating the lake, as their boats get trapped, fishing is hampered and even the fish and biodiversity suffer, at this nasty, prolific and pervasive weed suffocates them. This is the dark side of hyacinth. The bright side of hyacinth is that these weeds can be used as a valuable resource - to make paper. What motivated Robert was to reframe this environmental issue, so that it is an opportunity rather than a problem.

How does Robert’s business work? Poor people in his community go to the lake and pick the hyacinth and they sell it to Robert, who collects the hyacinth and transports it to his small firm. There, the hyacinth is dried (it takes 4 days for it to dry as he does not have the machinery) and then shredded, using scissors. Robert explains that it is often necessary to improvise, “we use what we have.”

The dried shreds are then put in saucepan, to cook – or “digested”, in technical terminology. Sodium hydroxide is added to the shreds, to get rid of the lignin – which reduces the quality and shelf life of paper. Lignin also makes paper brown rather than white. After about two to three hours of digestion, the pulp is washed under running hot water, to reduce the residual lignin. The pulp then needs to be introduced in a beating machine. The machine Robert has was locally fabricated and runs via an electric motor (see the picture below). It grinds the fibres, increasing the bonding potential. This stage is when starch is introduced (Robert uses cassava flour) to increase the mechanical strength of the paper. He also introduces rosin to increase the water resistance of the paper; natural dyes to colour the paper; and aluminium sulphate to improve the drainage properties. After 30 minutes of beating, the pulp is ready for paper making.

The next stage is to drain out the water from the pulp and press it. Robert uses a thin piece of cloth to do so – it is a handmade process. The roughness of the paper is determined during the pressing process. Finally, the product is taken out to dry.

Once dried, the paper is peeled off the net, trimmed and used for making various products, such as shopping bags, gift bags for ceremonies, photo-frames… Robert tells us that the limit to the range of products he can produce is the sky!

Robert says that he is also mixing water hyacinth with agricultural residues, for example wheat straw, banana fibres, sugar cane residues, etc. to make various kinds of paper. Moreover, he mixes waste paper in the hyacinth pulp too – he collects this from universities and business offices.

What more? Well, Robert is also interested in using hyacinth for biogas - because he is deeply concerned about the energy crisis. People are destroying the forests looking for firewood and being dragged to court. Women have gotten raped in forests, while collected firewood. So biogas is coming in handy and hyacinth is a valuable resource in this case too.

What an amazing session! Robert is what we refer to as a “social entrepreneur.” Robert studied Wood Science & Technologies at university and, as soon as he graduated, he started this business. Robert’s project is saving Ugandans who depend on the lake for food and water. The physical removal of the weed ensures uprooting of the entire plant from water, eliminating its chances of regeneration. This effort has led to a vibrant handmade paper industry with a number of employment opportunities, including in the collection of hyacinth, processing the weed into paper and marketing. Water hyacinth removal also protects aquatic biodiversity and no trees are cut for paper making. Robert’s biggest challenge is securing finance, but with his optimism, creativity and energy, he is able to cope. He attracts clients through his blog, face-to-face marketing and word of mouth. His logo is “Hyapaper: the brighter side of water hyacinth.”

For more information, please contact
Robert Atuhaire at Pafor Enterprises (U)Ltd /Hyapaper Project - UGANDA
http://paforenterprises.blogspot.com
telephone: +256778934404
email: robatuhaire at gmail.com

Africa!!!. La ventana abierta por los servicios financieros

Como imaginar un lugar sin estar ahí, desde todo punto de vista el mundo tiene muchas inequidades pero lo que hemos visto aquí, en estos primeros días de Ruta, es de gente que trata de salir de la forma que sea de su pobreza, gente que ha estado reprimida a lo largo de la historia moderna y que a la pequeña oportunidad abraza el entusiasmo y con sus limitaciones nos muestra que con poco si es posible hacer mucho.
Lo que hemos visto en estos primeros cinco dias, es una enorme capacidad de hacer cosas grandiosas, algunas con resultados debatibles, pero en fin de cuentas generadoras de un enorme capital social, relacional y de capacidades que no deja de sorprendernos, desde el inicio de la ruta nos dimos de cara a una realidad dura, o hasta hostil con una población casi olvidada, pero con las mismas inquietudes y miras inquitas de saber quienes éramos y que cosa podíamos dejar para su utilidad.

Pasando los días nos abriga la calidez de la cercanía a la línea ecuatorial con un paisaje que incluye elefantes, cebras, antílopes, hipopótamo y miradas extrañas de ver a gente ………..

Che esperienza meravigliosa questa Ruta! Mai nella nostra vita ci siamo svegliati cosi presto ma cosi volentieri! Ogni giorno della Ruta e´ un giorno in piu´ di apprendimento, di conoscenza, di scambio di informazioni, di straordinario arricchimento professionale e personale. L´idea che tutti i partecipanti rientrino nei loro paesi di origine e applichino cio´ che hanno imparato e cio´ che ritengono piu´ utile per il loro paese e per la loro comunita´, e´semplicemente elettrizzante e rappresenta la forma di cooperazione allo sviluppo (cooperazione sud-sud) dei prossimi decenni!

Alla fine della Ruta potremo dire di aver visitato 4 casi concreti di istituzioni microfinanziarie (e di averle poi analizzate e approfondite durante i wrap-up meetings, ciascuno esprimendo i propri compiacimenti o le proprie preoccupazioni), di aver imparato molto ma di aver anche risposto noi alle domande che le nostre amiche e i nostri amici africani ci ponevano per sapere cio´ che accade nei nostri paesi.

Durante la Ruta si lavora, ma il piacere e il divertimento non mancano di certo! Che divertenti i nostri viaggi in bus, cantando le canzoni piu´ conosciute (Akuna Matata,ecc…) ma anche quelle dei singoli paesi dei partecipanti, cosi come i vari inni nazionali! E poi mangiare i piatti tipici ugandesi (platano, riso, fagioli, patate, carne di capra, verdura…) cucinati dai nostri amici che cosi calorosamente ci ospitano nei loro villaggi e nelle loro case! E che accoglienze indimenticabili, con balli e canti che ci coinvolgono tutti! Alla fine della giornata siamo tutti un po´ stanchi, ma felici di essere stanchi perche´ esserlo ha significato passare una giornata intensissima e bellissima! Ogni giornata della Ruta e´ come un seme piantato, con tutte le possibilita’ che diventi presto albero e dia i suoi frutti non appena i partecipanti rientrano a casa!

Per finire non possiamo non citare le bellezze naturali apprezzate durante tutta la Ruta, tra foresta e savana, montagne e laghi, campagne, piantagioni di te´ e tanto altro, e poi gli straordinari animali! Abbiamo imparato molto anche della storia, della cultura e della tradizione ugandesi grazie agli appassionati racconti dei nostri amici ugandesi. E infine il gruppo, un gruppo di persone da vari continente e infiniti paesi (Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Camerun, Somalia, Italia, Olanda…!!!!) che gia´ a meta´ Ruta son in realta´ un gruppo di amici!!

A questo punto non possiamo che dire grazie a chi ha permesso che tutto cio´ abbia avuto luogo: grazie Procasur, grazie Diana, grazie Fred!!!!"

LEARNING ROUTE ON GENDER AND MICROFINANCE- Uganda

Solidarity and Trust: Key elements for improve rural livelihhod


by Maria Fernanda Arraes

For the last 9 days we have travelled to different regions of Uganda, looking for new ideas and successful experiences in rural microfinance services and products that pay attention to gender differences. Now we have arrived in Iganda district in the Nile valley.

Our last field visit to this adventure journey had the objective to learn fromthe "Kugumikiraza" and "Together we stand" groups, who are using he Village Savings and Loans method to improve their liveliood. The group welcomed us with song, theater and a poem that explained in detail their experiences, starting with the visit of the first technical staff that arrived to sensitize them about this idea.

When someone coming from Kampala told the community for the first time to "put their money together in a box", the first impression of the community was of course to suspect their savings would be stolen...today they laugh when they remember this time.

Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) is a good practice that focuses on very poor people and supports them to manage their household cash flow. Based in a communiy, VSLA can be complemened with other services from microfinance institutions, which normally focus on provinding credit for clients who already have a business activity.

After a number of meetings and trainings, the communities form their own associations. In general these groups invovle 15-30 persons, men and women, chosen by themselves. They define their objectives, adhere to standard VSLA rules, elect their officials and design their saving system. Members put their money into a fund from which they can borrow after three cycles and pay back with 10% interest, so that the fund can grow. The regular savings contributions to the group are deposite for a whole cycle and then distribted partially or totally for the individual members, who will use these saving for their own needs. Most of the groups can function independently without support from the technical staff after 12 months.

Poor women have to create their own economic activities; they need to save money to feed their families; plan for social evens such weddings, pay schools fees and uniforms; health services, etc. It was a good lesson to see how the community changes and how well they have understood the importance of saving money.

The VSLA give them the possibility to socialize an meet regularly, to be trained, to benefit from the solidarity of the community, save mone and invest. Now they appreciate the savings, even more than the loans. In both groups that we visited in Iganga we observed that the women improved their livelihood through asset accumulation, better nutrition and improved health after having participated in this initiative.

These cases showed us that beyond economic empowerment, women also go through a process of social empowerment. They became more confident, motivated and engage. As one women said: "before joining VSLA, I would not be able to stand up in front of you and reply to your questions". The relationship with their husband changed and women started to participate and become involved in decisions at the family an community level.

The communities groups still have challenges: it is time now to think how to improve their products and how to access new markets. More than the opportunity to develop income activites, this experience represents an important cultural change, different family relationship and community dynamics.

After these moving visits, we returned back to Kampala to discuss all these cases and think how we can adapt and apply the lessons in our activities related to microfinance and rural development in our countries....See you in the next post, when i will share with you some of the lessons learned and innovative ideas !!

Learning Route on Gender and Microfinance-Uganda

Learning for empowerment !!!! by Maria Fernanda Arraes

Our third stop was in Kyarumba, Kasese District on the foothills of Ruwenzori to visit the Bukonzo Joint Cooperative Microfinance Ltd. This was an excellent case to learn about their good practices, mainly in skills development for microfinance services. We were able to see new approaches in microfinance gender sensitive services and adaptions of the products to the communities’ reality. It was clear that women have fewer resources for accessing financial products and this has always constrained them from building assets and satisfying their financial needs. There is need to tailor the products and services to meet their needs.

Bukonzo Joint Cooperative has offered products to its members that range from savings, loans and investment building on the savings made which act as collateral. The loans offered are for buying coffee cherries during coffee season, payment of children’s schoolfees and buying scholastic materials, money for small businesses and investment in these other economic activitis.

To understand the products and services as well as delivery methodology used by Bukonzo Joint Cooperative and the changes at the communiy and household livelihoods, we spend one full day with them... We were overwhelmed by the warm welcome the community gave us: traditional, joyful music performed by the friendly, ever smiling women was just the beginning. This was followed by a wonderful taste of their very own organically grown coffee.

The introduction was great, we were invited to pick a friend (one visitor, one host) in order to break the language barriers, the host taught us how to use symbols to introduce themselves. The day’s agenda in symbols was all planned by them and presented based on a picture drawn in detail with a lot of curious symbols.

Based on their experience, they told us about their main issues and their main activities, in the community, group and individual levels. They expressed the role of men and women in the economic activities, the income and outcome of these activities and many other details about their situation. They shared their vision and all the steps that they planned to achieve these ideas, all expressed through colorful and structured pictures!

This way, we could know about some women individual lifestories, and also their visions and dreams: plans of building a house, the reduction of family violence, or the opportunity for their children to receive education. We saw that they had clear ideas how to achieve these goals and the necessary steps to do it, like diversifying their economic activities, accessing new markets and becoming part of the decisions in their cooperative and in the community.

Given the high illiteracy rate among the community members, the Bokonzo Cooperative could help them to really improve their skills using the pictorial methodology. The trainers told us that the most of the trainings have focused on having women issues at the forefront, however the realization of the training focus on women is counterproductive as the men became hostile. So, they recommend that all trainings should incorporate issues of both sexes and involve all family.

The women’s abilities to express their stories and visions about life through pictures has been built up with the extension staff for 12 months. Improving the method while practicing, the Cooperative seeks to educate its members in the importance of individual and business savings. Finally, they could achieve many of these objectives through an empowerment process based on a learning process, a lot of effort, work and agriculture and small business loans to members offered by their cooperative.

Generally the women are the biggest target of microfinance institutions because the lack to financial services and because they are consider more responsible and better financial managers. This experience shows us that the microfinance products can be more adapted to the rural communities needs, gender sensitive and based in families and rural communities’ dynamics, involving men and women and given then opportunities to understand the role of each. It can permit changes in the social inequities.

If you want to know more about these issues, please joint us in this journey... we´re going to our next stop in Iganga to learn from the Farmers Association and their experience with the Village Savings Loans.

Learning Route on Gender and Microfinance, Uganda

Unexpected Safari along the Route by Maria Fernanda Arraes

Mbarara District. Here we come ! After traveling southwestern direction for three hours from the capital city of Kampala, we arrived in the second stop.

The objective of our visit here is to understand the operations of the NGO Uganda Women's Effort to Support Orphans (UWESO) and its offshoot into the Success Microfinance Services (SMS) Ltd in financial services.

This case brought out a lot of questions and deeper group discussions, for examplem can an NGO providing social services based in charity at the same time operate a microfinance instituition that is more focused on economic development ? Are these services complementary or contradictory ?

The participants learned that the process to separate social and business case involves a lot of technical, institutional and financial challenges ! We realize, for example, the importance to clarify for all target groups the new institutional arrengements, to separate the management and actions of these two areas and to invest in the technical capacities of team.

The learning process from this experience was composed by different activites. We started with the institutional presentation from SMS. This was followed by the field visit in the Bushenyi rural community where we saw the SMS branch office and met their women's client group.

After the welcome speeches from the local and regional authorities, we listened to stories from the women's leaders, clients of SMS through solidarity group loan.

We also did a good discussion in smaller groups to understand in detail how the access to loans changed their life. They shared with us that this gave them an opportuniry to start or improve an economic activity and meet their household expenses.

The women group prepared a sumptuous lunch time for the participants and this was really appreciated because the rich and tasty local food. In addition to the food, they also danced and acted a play for us indicationg the benefits of microfinance. We also have the opportunity to visit their business. For example, Madam Margaret is a successful businesswoman who, with a loan, built a business premise which serves as her house, shop, another thres rooms that she rents to business neighbors and ten rooms that she rents out.

In the end of the afternoon, in order to recognize the warm reception they accorded us the Procasur team gave them certificates of recognition to each women group and to SMS for their knowledge service.

When we were on the road to our next destination of Kasese town we tought that all emotions of the day had finished but surprise, surprise: We found ourselves in a free safari as we crossed the Elisabeth II National Park and the Equator imaginary line ! This experience gave us the opportunity to see bush backsm gazelles and one of the big five: the elephants.

Our learning route is certainly a different training experience !!!

See you soon, when I come back to tell you more about our next surprises in the Ruwnzori mountain region...

From Uganda to Kenya: Day 4 and 5 of the Learning Route!

From Kampala, we continued on to Kayunga district – also called the “United States of Uganda” for its tribal diversity - on Day 4 of the Learning Route, where we visited a group of 15 women that have been working with a rights-based organisation called AHURICA (Association for Human Rights and Civic Awareness) on understanding the implications of the spousal consent clause on women’s land rights. AHURICA undertook research in the community, at the same time raising awareness of the Land Act and in particular, the spousal consent clause, which stipulates that any land transaction by either partner in marriage can only be done with the consent of their spouse. The key issue with this is that not many marriages are actually legally registered in the district and in Uganda generally, where marriages are often customary only – what we would probably classify as cohabitation. Also, polygamy is widely practised, across religions, adding another layer of complexity to the question of how to secure women’s land rights.

The women from the Kayunga association, which was formed little under a year ago and is in its incipient stages, shared how they have become aware of their marital status through this action-oriented research project. They shared with us how they have started to feel empowered by the knowledge they gained on the rights of women as enshrined in the Land Act and other relevant laws in Uganda, for instance, those governing inheritance – and how they have started raising awareness by informing their own husbands on the importance of getting their marriages legally registered.

Legally registering marriages were identified as a first step to secure women’s land rights in this context, and the sharing their experience, the participants from Mozambique suggested promoting mass marriages, something they have successfully done in Manhiça district, where they brought 30 couple to the district registrar’s office in December last year to have their marriages legally sanctioned. Sounds like many a man’s nightmare!

Some representatives from the local administration, including the chair of the local council, were present at the meeting, and in fact the role play the women had prepared for us showed how land conflicts can be solved: women whose land rights are violated can report to the local council, which can summon all parties involved to find a solution and ensure that no-one stands above the law. The presence of the representatives of the local administration seems to indicate that there is an opening for women to bring their cases forward, however, it is likely the more progressive and transparent administrators are present, not the ones that are corrupt or ignore legal provisions because their personal belief system does not recognise a woman’s right to own land.

We spent that evening with a round of feedback on the experience of the Learning Route so far so as to improve it for everyone and went to sleep for a few short hours (time of departure for the next morning: 3.30 am!), excited about the next part of the route in Kenya – and happy about our rickety bus having been changed into two more comfortable models so we could spread out and sleep!

Day 5 was mainly spent on the bus and at the border between Uganda and Kenya, where the immigration formalities took a long time – and even so, when we came out walking into Kenya, our buses where nowhere to be seen! Turns out that the Kenyan border police was in a meeting to discuss strike action and hence there was no-one to clear vehicles. So having spent more than two hours waiting, I guess we could count ourselves luck to have passed through before a strike! Once in Kenya, it was quite striking how fast the landscape and climate was changing and it was quite a pleasurable ride, though still a long one! We arrived in Nakuru after 3pm and found a panel of members and partners of the Kenya Land Alliance (KLA), an ILC member, waiting for us to introduce us to the Kenyan context.

Catherine Gatundu from KLA also organised a field visit for us to go and visit two camps of internally displaced people (IDPs) near Nakuru the next day, and two of the panel speakers were representatives from an IDP network. Despite our sorry state after 12 hours of travelling, the panel was lively and gave us a good overview of the status quo of land issues in Kenya – though some of the complexity only started to become evident the next day when we went to see the camps. As we arrived at the first site, we were awaited by MACOFA (Mau Community Forest Association), a member of the Kenya Land Alliance, to plant some trees in the arboretum they are planting for the nearby school. We planted native trees such as avocado (and to my shame, I don’t remember the other ones), one for each continent represented in the Learning Route.

The first camp was desolate, people, mainly young women with a lot of children, living in overcrowded tents on a small plot, working as day labourers on nearby farms to get by, while the second camp was organised, an association had been formed, a committee elected (nearly gender equal, 6 men and 5 women) and money had been pooled to buy more land for farming. We discussed the difference between the two camps that evening, asking ourselves what accounted for the difference between them, as both were camps formed by IDPs that moved on from a camp at Molo town formed after the 2007-8 election violence when this was dissolved. Both camps were established by people using a government “compensation”, paid as a “go back home” package, to buy land since they could not go back to their original homes (in most cases, those who owned land went back to their original community, while those that rented land or had small businesses did not). We discussed the reasons for the different outcomes in the two camps, and one of the key factors seemed to be the ‘englightened leader’ in the second camp, who recognised the importance of involving all members of the association, who contacted Kenya Land Alliance to get information on legal procedures related to land acquisition, and who recognised the importance of going to Nairobi to follow-up with the relevant government department.

The visit to the IDP camps raised a lot of questions for those of us not coming from Kenya, as we were not that familiar with the complex reasons for the post-election violence in 2007-2008. Our lively discussion that evening answered some of those, and by this stage, participants were interacting much more also outside of the programme (in the little space there was!).

Representatives from ILC Latin America and Asia: Patricia Costas and Roshan Jahan

More to follow on the remaining two field visits in the next blog post(s)!

The days are passing by fast on the Learning Route – Summary of days 1-3

Nakuru, 13 March 2010

It’s Day 6 of the Route already and the first time since its start that I find the time (and internet connection!) to write a piece for the blog – there is little free time and working on the bus is next to impossible because of a rather bumpy ride (and a rather basic bus!).

Since we started on Monday with our opening workshop in Kampala, during which all of us presented the work of our organisations, we have visited two communities and participated in two panel discussions - I shall try to catch up with blogging about all this over the next few days! We have travelled nearly 30 hours by bus along roads that are sometimes just a bit bumpy, sometimes muarram, i.e. with no tarmac and very slippery because of heavy rain. The programme is packed and the travel tiring, but the participants are patient and good-humoured (the fact that Lilia, one of our participants pictured below, gives excellent massages helps!). Having been on the road together for a few days has started to forge friendships – which surely is one of the most important outcomes of such a route!

We arrived in Kagadi town, in Kibaale district, late Monday evening to stay on the campus of the African Rural University, founded and run by URDT (Uganda Rural Development and Training), who are also the ones that worked on the action-oriented research project with the community we then visited on Tuesday.

We were welcomed with song and dance (into which some of us enthusiastically joined in as you can see from the picture!) and spent the day hearing from women involved in the project, who had prepared presentations on a range of topics related to women’s land rights, including customary law, polygamy, and HIV/AIDS – in this case by two HIV-positive women that presented their testimony so confidently in front of the whole community, leaders from local and district administration and our group that it clearly showed they have overcome the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.

URDT used a very interesting approach to work with women from the community, the ‘visioning’ approach. This approach is a shift from the responsive or reactive orientation of research (problem-solving), towards fostering creativity – by envisioning positive change, people involved are focusing on what changes are most important to them and what steps they can take – one at a time – to get there. The women involved in the action-oriented research project, focused on what they wanted in relation their current situation, recognised the gaps and made conscious choices on what needed to get done. It was quite amazing what has happened in this community in the space of under 2 years, for instance, the women founded their own savings and credit cooperatives to make loans to group members and help them invest in improving their agriculture of setting up a small business. For me, the most impressive result was the poise and self-confidence which the women had so obviously gained through their participation. The visioning approach in particular caught mine and most of the participants’ attention and many said they were keen to replicate it at home (and even for their own personal use as a technique to overcome obstacles!).

The women also presented a role play about a polygamous marriage and the problems faced by the 4 wives upon the death of their husband (in this area, Christians and Muslims alike practise polygamous marriage) – and how to solve such conflicts by approaching the local authorities to mediate between the parties. We later visited some households to ask more detailed questions and found out that polygamy in this area seems to be a form of cohabitation in which one man has several ‘wives’, none of whom are legally registered, and all of which have a house and small piece of land- rather than having one home, the husband ‘rotates’, turning up at any of the wives’ houses when he feels like it. All of these wives cultivate a piece each of their husbands land, with all the proceeds going to him – in return, he provides the women with necessities such as salt and candles and takes care of sick children. Not a very good deal for the women, it seems!

We spent a fascinating day sitting in the shade of the trees, with a large group of other community members – and what looked like probably all the children of the village! – as an audience. The welcome by the community was exceptional and all of us learnt a lot to take home with us.

Day 3 we left very early in the morning to return to Kampala for a lunch panel organised by Uganda Land Alliance to share the experiences from the CALI (Collaborative Action on land Issues) project – this was quite a contrast after a day spent in the village, with the Minister of State for Land honouring us with his presence (albeit only for roughly 20 minutes, which is probably normal?), with technical experts sharing lessons from a project that involved civil society, the private sector and government in a national policy dialogue.

The CALI project consisted of studies to feed into policy formulation, as well as regional consultations and a national policy forum to get feedback on drafts of the policy from those affected by it in the rural areas. One of the participants in the grassroots consultations in NorthernUganda, Vincent Oling, stressed that to develop a good land policy, asking for communities to get involved is crucial. He said that there were challenges regarding the representation of the rural population in such consultations – and especially of women. He recommended that consultations should involve a representative sample from the community, rather than just a few people selected by community leaders, which will likely leave out women.
He questioned whether women’s land rights could ever be equal in a context of polygamous customary marriage.

Vincent also brought up the need to look beyond the land policy and start addressing land issues in government policies on minerals, oil, etc. – all of which affect the land rights of communities severely! He also stressed that it is never too late to meaningfully involve communities and that the current draft of the Ugandan land policy should again be shared with communities for another round of recommendations.

So, 3 days gone, another 6 days to go! More tomorrow, internet connection permitting...