Mwares Project Setting
The Manafwa Watershed Restoration and Stewardship project, MWARES, is a 4-year project with office in Mbale, financed by Stichting DOB Ecology , implemented by Africa2000 Network (A2N) and led by Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR). It is working in Bududa district on the slopes of Mount Elgon, where the project started in July 2019.
The goal of MWARES is “to restore resilience and stimulate stewardship of the Manafwa watershed”. Given that the watershed is part of the Mount Elgon National Park, the urgency to conserve and restore the watershed’s ecosystem services, protect the national park from further encroachment and establish resilient farming systems for sustainable local food production is huge.
To tackle this challenge, MWARES uses the PIP approach (Integrated Farm Planning approach), in which generating intrinsic motivation, commitment and collaboration by local stakeholders to invest in the watershed are crucial. Key in the project is therefore to work towards “resilience-based stewardship”, which means that stakeholders in the Manafwa watershed understand and accept their responsibility to be good stewards of the land and its natural resources, and agree to work together to restore the watershed’s resilience and preserve its biodiversity. This is obviously related to development opportunities in the Manafwa watershed, namely restoration of its bread-basket function and provision of local and regional markets, and exploring (sustainable) entrepreneurial initiatives in the watershed
A Working Future
Plan International Uganda negotiated a Grant from Norad to implement a four year (2019- 2022) project entitled “A Working Future” aimed at expanding the employment opportunities to 24,000 new youth in the districts of Tororo, Kamuli and Buyende in Eastern Uganda. The action will demonstrate ways to improve the agriculture sector by matching, developing and enhancing the skills of youths according to market demands along three chosen value chains. By providing access to capital through Village Savings and Loan groups for youth (VSLA) and micro-loans provided by commercial banks as well as skills and knowledge directly responsive to market demands, the action creates mutual benefits between private sector and target youth and increases productivity of the agriculture sector in Uganda. The action also indirectly contributes to inclusive economic growth by engaging marginalized youth, with a particular focus on girls and young women, in rural areas of Uganda. AWF is based on a collaboration between Plan International Uganda, a leading export company of fresh produce in Uganda, KK Fresh Produce Exporters Ltd (KK Fresh) and two local CSOs i.e. Volunteer Efforts for Development Concerns (VEDCO) and Africa 2000 Network (A2N). The project will also bring on board a number of key value chain actors during implementation