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We train farmers to increase their crop yields through organic local practices, allowing them to increase their food security and break the cycle of poverty. Crop Growing Training Tamarind takes small groups of 12 farmers (120 per year) for a fortnight and provides a holistic program covering crop growing and animal husbandry , delivered in the local Acholi dialect. The Tamarind Training Farm is a working farm divided into 1/2 acre sections where different small crops are grown such as millet, beans, sweet potatoes, potatoes, ground nuts (peanuts) and maize. Farmers attend daily and are taught and shown modern methods and better ways to increase the yield of each of the crops, from how to choose better seeds, when and how to spray for pests, to the best fertilisers like chicken manure , and irrigation methods. They learn and understand quality control. Working alongside Tamarind staff in the field helps them understand how better farming practices for different types of crop means more yield at harvest time. Farmers return to their own land and implement this knowledge and skill on a larger scale, and both increase and specialise their yield. In the past, these same farmers had been mixing crops in their fields which resulted in the plants fighting for nutrients and therefore a low harvest to feed their families. With new knowledge and skills, farmers are able to maximise the yield, moving towards a commercial venture rather than a subsistence one, which will bring long term benefits to their families. Farmers are assessed and supported by Local Council Leaders who follow up to see the implementation of the practices at home. Tamarind employs local people to work on the Training Farm, and uses the crops grown to feed the staff and farmers. Workers are paid either a fair local wage or may undertake a seed loan program instead. Guiding locals through commercial agricultural practices helps to restore farming knowledge and a mindset of sustainability in local people. This then helps break the poverty cycle, restoring the community. It rebuilds skills, trades and knowledge that has been lost and forgotten, resourcing people so that they can stand on their own two feet and have the ability to feed themselves. What do the farms produce? Sorgum G-nuts (peanuts) Sesame seeds Maize Green grams Eggplants Cherry tomatoes Herbs Sweet Potatos Pumpkins Casava Beans Various local greens Bananas Mangos Jack fruit Lemons Blackberries Coffee Avocados Oranges Guava Passionfruit seeds held in hand of harvester wide shot of workers harvesting field banana trees growing maize growing leafy greens growing guava growing local man using hoe on a field crop growing black beans harvested from Tamarind's training farms 1/5 Funding Goal $24 000 per year Donate

Learn why the work of Tamarind Australia is needed in Northern Uganda. Our Story The Problem From 1987 to 2005 the people of Northern Uganda suffered greatly from the ongoing guerrilla activities of the 'Lord’s Resistance Army' (LRA). The situation became so bad that in 1996 the Ugandan Government created camps for about 2 million local village people to leave their homes and live in protected settlements called Internally Displaced Peoples' Camps (IDPs). Here they lived in tents, got all supplies from international agencies and were unable to farm for food. In the camps many people went in as children, and many more were born there. Consequently, the local people lost their skills for farming and fending for themselves . Many children and adults lost their lives at these camps due to malnutrition, HIV-Aids, cholera and many other diseases. However, this situation was not to be permanent. From about 200 5 peace t alks between the Ugandan Govt and the LRA were materialising, with a truce and ceasefires agreed and broken. However, some conflict continued until about 2007 when a new campaign was launched b y Amnesty International to negotiate through forgiveness. That’s when many rebels returned to their homes to be reintegrated in the community. By 2007 the Government had closed all the IDP camps and ordered all the international agencies not to support camp dwellers with any projects. Consequently, people gradually started returning to their villages that they left over 20 years ago to start a new life. The only challenge was they had no farming skills, while infrastructure, health centers and local government were not in place. In May 2010 President Obama signed into US law the 'Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act', sending in American troops who had returned from Iraq. These soldiers helped provide intelligence to the African Union forces (Amissom) to hunt for the remaining rebels, including the leader Joseph Kony, but to no avail. A whole generation of villagers has lost much of the knowledge and skills for growing food, let alone having the incentive to generate an extra income from more productive farming. Our Solution Tamarind exists to instil a mindset of independence amongst Northern Ugandan communities, rather than rely on government and NGO handouts. We do this through teaching effective farming practices that increase yield, thus allowing villagers to move from subsistence farming with a focus on the present, to farming practices that enable villagers to set aside produce and funds for future needs. We endeavour to change the hand to mouth survival mentality that was prevalent during the war, while respecting and restoring traditional cultural practices. We choose to help people help themselves. Our Founders Chris has a degree in teaching, and has completed a farming scholarship with Rotary Australia. Chris is passionate about seeing his community break the cycle of poverty. Chris Ochaya and Sarah Ochaya are married with 3 children. Together, they started Tamarind in 2012 with the mission to restore, rebuild and resource the people of Northern Ugandan. Sarah has a degree in theology and counselling. She has been living in Uganda for 13 years and currently is the director of The Tribe (Ugandan artisan production). She is passionate about seeing those around her healed - body, mind and soul. Our Board Bruce McKay Chairman David Hoffman Treasurer / Secretary Diana Brand Member Michael Redding Member Thank you to our corporate supporters Werribee Rotary Connect Church Meredith Dairy What is our vision for the future of Northern Uganda? Learn more about our methods What are our programs achieving? Learn more about our projects

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