Restoring a precarious landscape

I’m writing this from Mbunga County in Uganda. We’re high in the Ruwenzori Mountains, at about 3,300 metres above sea level. Behind us is a UNESCO world heritage site, famed for its remarkable flora and fauna. In front of us are steep hills that descend precipitously down to the Great Rift Valley. 

This is a landscape that is both stunning and precarious. To my right I can see a house perched perilously on the steep-sided slopes. When it rains, flash floods sweep houses away and scour the hills. As the land becomes more degraded, life becomes harder, and riskier. 

I’m here with Margaret and her colleagues from Alpha Women. They have a vision for this remarkable landscape. It involves trees, unsurprisingly. It involves women, and the whole community too. As we walk along the paths nearby we see that soil-stabilising tree species have been planted along with bamboo to grip the earth and reduce the risk of mudslides.  

We encounter mangoes that are already yielding a harvest after five years, providing valuable income. We see vanilla vines hanging from Jatropha Curcas trees. They’re called ‘nurse trees’ because the vines hang from them and get energy directly from the trees’ branches. Margaret is keen to see more women involved in vanilla production.  

Her vision also involves fuel efficient stoves, because reducing use of firewood makes a lot of sense up here, particularly for women who have to spend a long time fetching it. It involves women’s savings schemes, as small amounts of money can make all the difference. And of course, it involves planting a lot of trees. 

While our African team have excellent technical expertise and knowhow in agroforestry and restoration, our aim is always to support the visions that are already here. We’ve been working with Alpha Women for over 7 years and there’s so more they want to do – and we believe they can do it.  

In the village centre we see a huge turnout from the surrounding area – there’s an abundance of interest in this work. I ask how many of the women present are members of Alpha Women – nearly every woman there is a member. This is clearly not just Margaret’s vision. It is shared by mothers and daughters across Mbunga County. 

We’re hugely grateful to Tree Sisters and Tresanton Trust for their crucial support to this work in Uganda. 

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