PF’s Shamba System provides valuable employment, education, housing, health services and security…
…and a highly efficient forest management system for the farm!
CHECK OUT RECENT VIDEO UPDATE HERE
When building new farms in the rural landscapes of Africa you inherit lands full of people. Over 80% of Uganda’s population lives in rural areas and most do not hold contract or lease on the land they inhabit.
Many property owners view these mostly impoverished people as squatters, a roadblock to development and a problem to be dealt with; by removing them. This causes a great many problems and is counter productive. Apart from avoiding theft and property destruction from creating a small war by battling the people living in the area, the benefit of integrating their families and homes into the design of the new farm is nothing short of miraculous when done right.
Our Shamba Contract System
This program offers a contract to inhabitants that is either accepted like any job description, or rejected. To date none have turned down this opportunity and PF now has over 19 families employed and living on the farm: An overwhelming success.
Upon accepting the program these families are provided with a social worker that helps them to set up a permanent homestead on 2 acres of land. This includes a simple house to start, solar lights and a cell charger, water access, basic tools and seeds to get their own crops up and running. Constant training in gardening and animal husbandry practices to ensure crops and gardens are safe, enable the contracted person and their family to have a sense of permanence, and, their health improves from a more reliable and stable diet. They are also provided with a small stipend to safeguard against drought seasons and for medical needs. All this is provided them in exchange for a 50% share on their crops over the 2 acres.
Probably the greatest benefit to Shamba families is the psychological lift they are given by having a support system in place, being part of a larger organization & community and a more diversified work life. Coming from a subsistence farming state of mind they are given an opportunity to grow. They are super energized and amazingly dedicated workers!
One of the first families to join the system in 2015
VIEW THE VIDEO INTERVIEW ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE
The PF Shamba Contract System is a form of employment that addresses the most pressing issues of the rural, impoverished people of Africa. It puts their efforts in line with ecologically friendly agriculture methods and helps their children reach higher levels of education, who will in turn, become the next generation of rural landscapers. Their collective efforts will further our mission of creating harmony with people through a thoughtful, humanitarian approach that supports the very systems that will ensure our commercial success. This approach is in complete harmony with the Permaculture Principles of: Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share
