Over the next few months, Kellogg’s are running an on—pack promotion encouraging you to ‘Give a Gift of a Tree’ to help people in Africa. To give the gift of trees, please collect tokens from special packs of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. All the money contributed goes directly to Bóthar and for every ten trees donated, Kellogg’s will send an additional tree!
When you support the Kellogg’s Make a Life Shine campaign, you will receive a special certificate with your name on it together with a special family tree poster. You can fill its branches with all the people who help you grow!
Bóthar has been actively working in the Masaka district of Uganda since 1993. The livestock programme in this area gives priority to the needy, HIV-AIDS infected and affected persons and widow headed families with a big number of orphans and children to take care of. The aim of this project was to incorporate dairy farming with environmental practices and training.
393 families in this area received training in farm planning, environmental conservation, pasture establishment and management, animal husbandry, fruit growing, gender equality, milk production and handling and vegetable growing from Bóthar and its project partners Heifer International Uganda.
The planting of trees and the training in good environmental practices has had a far reaching effect on the local community. All of the households have exhibited good contour management, thus controlling erosion and maintaining soil fertility. Energy saving technologies has been introduced in the communities resulting in less encroachment on woodlots thus conserving the environment.
The general awareness about environment in the area has improved and the community participation in clean gardening and practising separation of non-degradable materials from soil for example polythene, broken bottles and metal materials has greatly increased the crop yields of all of the families participating in this project region.
50,640 trees have been planted in the project area helping to stop soil erosion. The trees, with their roots, bind the soil together and keep it in place. Without the trees the soil would blow away with time. Also the trees that have been planted in this area naturally put nitrogen back into the soil while simultaneously absorbing carbon from the air and helping to deplete pollution levels.
The holistic approach that Bóthar takes with its livestock micro enterprise farming programme is, in many cases, as dependent on the presence of trees as it is on the presence of the stock themselves. The animals in turn will contribute to the development of the trees with their manure. This environmentally friendly approach to farming is self sustaining and ensures that our recipient farmers can feed their families, share with others and care for the earth in a natural way.
This project has restored, maintained and improved the ecological balance through integrated approach and environmental practices. Masaka Diocese has grown into a renowned agricultural region in the country with sufficient food and cash crop production.
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