TEST: Exchange Learning Inspires Sustainability in Lwakhakha Sub-Catchment
April 2025 | Kapchorwa & Katakwi, Uganda
A recent exchange learning visit organized by AidEnvironment has sparked fresh insights among communities in the Lwakhakha sub-catchment, as part of the ongoing efforts under the World Bank-funded Integrated Water Management and Development Project (IWMDP). Hosted within Uganda’s Mpologoma Catchment, the visit brought together local government officials, leaders, and project beneficiaries for an impactful learning journey.
This knowledge-sharing trip aimed to deepen participants’ understanding of catchment management practices and long-term project sustainability. It featured site visits in Kapchorwa and Katakwi districts, where AidEnvironment and the Ministry of Water and Environment respectively, have implemented a range of conservation and livelihood interventions.
Highlights from the Field
Kapchorwa: GFF Project Interventions
In Kapchorwa, participants visited sites under AidEnvironment’s Green Future Farming (GFF) Project. They explored practical demonstrations of rainwater harvesting, biogas digesters, gully rehabilitation using check-dams, and other soil and water conservation techniques. These activities showcased how simple, community-led solutions can rejuvenate degraded landscapes and improve water access.
Katakwi: EURECCA Project Innovations
The learning continued in Katakwi District, where the EURECCA Project—led by the Ministry of Water and Environment under the Kyoga Water Management Zone—has been transforming livelihoods. Participants, many from the Elgon region, found the experience both enriching and eye-opening, with some enjoying their first-ever ferry ride across the local waters.
They engaged with local beneficiaries and gained valuable knowledge on:
Sustaining Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) through income-generating activities like fish farming and sheep rearing.
Best practices for maintaining productive fish farms.
The critical role wetlands play in the environment and the importance of their restoration.
Shaping a Sustainable Future
This exchange wasn’t just a learning exercise—it was a catalyst for action. Many participants expressed a strong commitment to applying the lessons in their own communities, savings groups, and households. From embracing eco-friendly technologies to restoring natural ecosystems, the visit sparked a deeper appreciation for integrated water resource management.
At AidEnvironment, we believe learning never stops. Providing project stakeholders with real-world exposure empowers them to become stewards of sustainability, ensuring that project benefits last well beyond their implementation phase.
April 2025 | Kapchorwa & Katakwi, Uganda A recent exchange learning visit organized by AidEnvironment has sparked fresh insights among communities in the Lwakhakha sub-catchment, as part of the ongoing efforts under the World Bank-funded Integrated Water Management and Development Project (IWMDP). Hosted within Uganda’s Mpologoma Catchment, the visit brought together local government officials, leaders, and project beneficiaries for an […]
Supporting communities in micro-catchments around Kabuyanda Irrigation Scheme to implement Afforestation and Soil & Water Conservation Measures Written by the AidEnvironment team in Uganda The Government of Uganda, with funding from the World Bank, is supporting the implementation of the Irrigation for Climate Resilience Project (ICRP). The objective is to provide farmers in the project areas with access to irrigation […]
By Anne Kikundwa and Brian Lukwago AidEnvironment continues to promote regenerative agriculture, a farming approach that emphasises rebuilding soil health, increasing biodiversity, and enhancing ecosystems in Sebei Sub Region through the Green Future Farming Project (GFF) . The Sebei sub-region in Uganda, located on the slopes of Mount Elgon, is rich in natural resources and has a unique climate ideal […]
Drafted by Marina Vara Gutiérrez and Keje Nagel Last week, our new initiative, Harvesting Health: Integrating Nutrition and Sustainable Farming in Mt. Elgon, officially kicked off in Kapchorwa, Uganda. This exciting project, supported by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) under their Accelerating Resilient Food Systems in Africa (ARFSA) programme, marks the beginning of a transformative three-year journey. Our project aims […]
Article written by East Africa Team AidEnvironment, on behalf of the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) in Uganda, empowers locals by building skills in beekeeping through training and support, including production technology and access to market. This need for support surfaced following gulley rehabilitation and river bank restoration activities which reduced their farming land. The project intends to contribute […]
For many of us not actively engaged in this field, the term regenerative agriculture is not something we hear often. To get better acquainted with the concept, we sit down with Marina Vara Gutiérrez, the Program Coordinator for Regenerative Agriculture and Agroforestry from our Landscape Management team. Apart from learning more about regenerative agriculture, we also find out more about […]
In this article, our Executive Director shares her reflections, insights, and firsthand experience from her recent trip to the Carmen region in the Philippines, where she witnessed the challenges and successes of our collaborative efforts with local farmers on the Going Bananas project. By Anna Shoemakers, Executive Director. Visiting the region of Carmen, where our collaboration with local farmers on […]
For the first time, the AidEnvironment team has collated a snapshot of the work we have undertaken across issue areas and geographies. Looking back at 2023, we continued to strengthen and improve our initiatives in the Sector Transformation field by undertaking assessments and strategic development for stakeholders aiming for fairer and more inclusive supply chains. We likewise increased our […]
By Javier Silas Omagor In a collaborative effort, the government through the ministry of water and environment, (MWE), along with partners such as World Bank and AidEnvironment has ramped up restoration activities in a disaster-prone Mt. Elgon area to enhance resilience and mitigate the impact of future calamities. This was revealed on December, Saturday, 16, at the well-attended ceremony to […]
Written by Anne Kikundwa & Brian Lukwago Rivers in the Lwakhakha sub-catchment are a major source of livelihood for the neighboring farming communities as they provide water for livestock and crops. In these communities, farmers have faced challenges of loss of land due to collapsing riverbanks. Some of these rivers, located in the eastern part of Uganda, mark the natural […]
Written by Henry Stanley Mbowa First, what is biochar? Biochar is an organic fertilizer made from biodegradable waste materials through aerobic combustion in a barrel. The biodegradable materials used include domestic and garden wastes such as dry banana leaves, tree leaves, kitchen waste, maize cobs, beans shells, and plant trimmings. Other elements included in the process are sticks, […]
Article by Marina Vara Gutiérrez (Regenerative Agriculture expert at AidEnvironment) What a journey it is being part of the Green Transformation Pathways (GTP) project in India! The GTP project is rooted in four pillars: regenerative agriculture, natural resources management, local economy, and women’s centrality. In September 2023, as part of the regenerative agriculture workstream developed for the project, Ruben Borge […]
The upper Ounila catchment in Morocco has been losing yield, becoming more inhospitable due to climate change, and lacking agricultural benefits and knowledge to work with the land. The area’s harsh climate presents a difficult environment to achieve sustainable greening. With the changing climate, we can expect that land degradation, floods, and droughts in the catchment will continue to increase. […]
Article by Anne Birungi Kikundwa Gender equality is paramount to having a more prosperous and vibrant world. However, girls and women across the globe still face remarkable challenges. Women continuously face barriers that affect their opportunities, including being underrepresented in power and decision-making roles. In many of our communities in Uganda, girls and women are often seen as less valuable than […]
“Innovative Applications in Agricultural Extension for Sustainable Food & Environmental Security” was the theme of the 2023 International Extension Education Conference organised by the Department of Extension Education, at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences of Banaras Hindu University, in Varanasi, India. The conference brought together experts from around the world to discuss and explore the latest developments and advancements in […]
The Sugar & Steam consortium, consisting of AidEnvironment, PT Aliet Green, and Van Hall Larenstein (VHL) University, is working together with coconut sugar farmers in Kulon Progo, Special Region of Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia to boost their climate resilience and productivity. Aliet Green is a company producing organic coconut sugar and other organic food products in partnership with farmers. As the […]
Article by Marina Vara Gutiérrez The Green Transformation Pathways (GTP) project is an ambitious initiative that aims to create a vibrant rural economy in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand in India. Funded by the IKEA Foundation and implemented through a consortium of four organizations – Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), MetaMeta, and […]
Blog article by Marina Vara Gutiérrez, Regenerative Agriculture Expert, AidEnvironment The Indian government’s agricultural policies are primarily focused on the promotion of conventional agriculture, on monocropping production schemes paired with chemical agricultural inputs into the food production system. These practices have led to an increasing soil health and fertility problem in India over the last few decades. In light of […]
As a culmination of prior conversations on the matter, on Wednesday, 26 October 2022, AidEnvironment together with its partner organization in Indonesia, Yayasan Sangga Bumi Lestari, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tanjungpura University. Corresponding cooperation and implementation agreements with the faculty of the Forestry department of the university were also inked at the event. The signing of these […]
Authors: Akanksha Mishra (PRADAN), Meghna Mukherjee (MetaMeta Research), and Marina Vara Gutiérrez (Aidenvironment). Meet Sumitra Devi. She hails from Chatugada village in the Bokaro district of Jharkhand. Since 2007, PRADAN started promoting self-help groups (a self-help group is an intermediary financial institution usually composed of 12 to 25 local women. The main idea was to ease access to credit […]
Authors: Anushree Mitra (MetaMeta Research), Meghna Mukherjee (MetaMeta Research), Poulomi Mallick (PRADAN) Meet Shobha Tiwari. Though she hails from Chattisgarh state in India, she has lived and worked in Samnapur Block, Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh (MP), for most of her life. After her post-graduation, she was preparing for her Master’s in Philosophy when she joined Ekta Parishad[1] (an […]
Article by: Meghna Mukherjee (MetaMeta Research), Shubham Jain (MetaMeta Research), Vinitika Lal (PRADAN) Meet Meera Devi from Kutela Gram in Dindori District in Madhya Pradesh, India. Meera has been running a Bio-Resource Centre (BRC), which makes and supplies organic inputs like biofertilizers and bio-pesticides. A BRC is a small organization promoted by PRADAN, an NGO working in the […]
Article by: Vinitika Lal (PRADAN), Arpan Mondal (MetaMeta Research), Meghna Mukherjee (MetaMeta Research), and Iqra Khan (PRADAN) Meet Bimla Kujur. Bimla hails from Marcha-Dautoli, a small village in India in Marcha Panchayat, Torpa Block, Jharkhand. Bimla has been working as a Samvidhan Saathi (literally translates to Constitution companion) for the last year, in the field of local […]
CELEBRATING THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF RURAL WOMEN October 15, 2022 Article by: Marina Vara Gutierrez (Aidenvironment), Vinitika Lal (PRADAN) and Meghna Mukherjee (MetaMeta) Do we ever wonder “who grows our food?” Today, the 15th of October, we are celebrating the International Day of Rural Women (IDRW). The idea to celebrate International Day of Rural Women was put forward by international […]
Article by Anne Kikundwa Communities in Kamrono in the Ugandan district of Agago, face a lot of deforestation. With the exception of shea trees which are predominant protected by strict community bylaws, many local tree species are increasingly being cut down to be used as wood fuel and charcoal. Charcoal burning is a common activity in the community that is […]
Your dose of sustainable solutions As another quarter comes to a close, our team continues to work with partners around the globe collecting data, developing strategies for sustainable sector transformation, and putting these strategies into action on the ground. From Indonesia to Uganda, we’re excited to share the latest updates in our September Newsletter. If you are working on similar […]
This past August, the AidEnvironment team returned to India to visit areas under the Green Transformation Project (GTP) in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. Junior expert on land and water management, Marina Gutiérrez, together with Ruben Borges, an external consultant for the GTP project who specializes in soil fertility, conducted a two-week scoping mission, visiting different project areas in which regenerative […]
Our new website is here! The AidEnvironment team is thrilled to share that our updated website is now live. We have a new look to reflect how our work has evolved. But our mission remains the same: to work together with our partners to protect and restore ecosystems and improve livelihoods. You can read more about it here. Sharing our experiences […]
AidEnvironment launches its new website along with a new look, including a bright new color palette and a new logo. These visual reminders reflect how AidEnvironment continues to grow and innovate while remaining committed to our vision to build a sustainable, collaborative, and inclusive world with our partners.
Recently, Aidenvironment got a new program approved by the IKEA Foundation. The program focuses on regenerative agriculture and is called Green Transformation. The program will be implemented in Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh in India, together with three other partners: PRADAN, FES and MetaMeta Research. Currently, these areas in India face challenges in degradation of ecology, low agricultural returns, and increasing rural distress; all complicated by climate change. To promote […]
EAST AFRICA OFFICE Sarah Nulamansi Fenet Mekonnen Fenet holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management. She joined Aidenvironment in June 2021 as a young expert/project officer for the Green Future Farming program at Middle Awash Oromia, Ethiopia. She is based at the Doni field office and is highly motivated to […]
In the Green Future Farming project, biogas digesters are promoted to overcome the combined challenges of indoor air pollution and soil erosion and degradation in the coffee-growing Sebei sub-region of Uganda. Aidenvironment is involved in a demo that recently started. Trees in the Kapchorwa, Kween, and Bukwo Districts of Uganda are cut down for firewood or for sale, leading to […]
In November, The Green Future Farming project for Elgon Region in Uganda was launched by AidEnvironment, the Ministry of Water and Environment, and the Chief Administrative Officers for Kapchorwa, Kween, and Bukwo Districts. It is part of a wider program in East Africa to combat problems of declining soil fertility and water resources through landscape improvement, and local value chain […]
With our partners Treelife, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), the Municipality of Carmen, and the University of Southern Mindanao in the Philippines, Aidenvironment has started work on an RVO-funded SDGP program on integrated water and agricultural value chains called “Going Bananas.” Shifting from unsustainable annual crops that lead to high erosion and water runoff toward an inclusive, profitable organic […]
Green Future Farming is a four-year project by a consortium of AidEnvironment, MetaMeta, and Justdiggit, supported by IKEA Foundation, to show how regenerative agriculture can benefit both farmers and the environment in three different landscapes in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Green Future Farming combines investment in landscape restoration and management, mainstreams regenerative agriculture, and strengthens local value chains to make rural economies more […]
On June 6, the SDGP Facility Award Ceremony was held in The Hague. AidEnvironment was awarded an SDGP grant for both of our submitted projects: ‘Going Bananas’ in the Philippines (as lead) and ‘Sugar & Steam’ in Indonesia (as partner organization). We are delighted and keen to start work on these two interesting projects with SDGP and our partners. The […]
