ECOLIFE FOODS a social enterprise in Uganda is working with SVRG (Smart Villages Researcher Group) on a project Integrated Minigrid + Integral Anchor Load Model for Rural Energy Access in Uganda. When the lockdown was lifted, the staff moved to communities to interact with the farmers/members of these communities to understand the status quo and judge on how and where to start with the intervention. The engagement involved discussions with the farmers on their economic activities, challenges they face and their main sources of energy.
Majority depend on farming for their primary income base and use solar energy for lighting and; very few still use kerosene lamps. We visited two sub counties in Wakiso district and three sub counties in Luweero district which are our intervention districts. In Wakiso we visited 10 villages, 3 in Masulita subcounty and 7 in Namayumba subcounty. In Luweero we visited 3 sub counties, 1 village in Makulubita subcounty, 3 villages in Kikyusa subcounty and 3 villages in Kamira subcounty. Overall, the villages had almost the same challenges i.e. theft, limited access to quality water, drought, poor soil fertility, and limited number of schools in the community. The community members have tried to find solutions to most of the challenges although their capacity to tackle them all is limited. They thus need help from organisations such as Ecolife and SVRG to boost their fight against the many challenges in a bid to empower themselves and the community at large.
