Human Development and Poverty Index ranks Uganda among the least developing countries of Africa and Global wide.  The low-income and disadvantaged families, groups and communities in Eastern and Northern regions of Uganda are open to increasing economic risks (Extreme Poverty) with Youths facing the worst, besides facing the hard consequences of natural disasters and climate change because of the poor human activities in trying to make a living. Such events have caused severe damage to human life, settlement patterns, local environment and, above all, to the economic sustainability of the rural poor. Floods and landslides have spoiled agricultural land, destroyed livestock, displaced biodiversity, reduced productive human health and demolished habitation. These unfortunate periodical incidents increase the vulnerability of poor communities, fracturing their sources of income and undermining their sustainability practices. Further to this, these communities, time and again, adopt unsustainable income-generating activities which are characterized by inadequate planning, inaccessible markets, lack of organizational skills and poor coping strategies. Hence, a holistic intervention is required, in which disaster preparedness is combined with a mechanism that sustains and increases livelihood opportunities for the rural and the vulnerable children, groups and communities.

Agriculture is the mainstay of our people and the backbone of our economies and the activity is mainly done by the rural people. Its future depends on the ability to support a growing population, which demands sound management of the natural resource base. Under present land and population pressures, escalating rates of environmental degradation and food insecurity have exacerbated (worsened) the challenge. For many communities, land holdings are shrinking in size and becoming more fragmented. Traditional practices that preserved the integrity of the natural resource base are dying out because of the high shooting population in the Country and marginal areas have been brought under cultivation. Continuous cropping is now the norm, often in monocultures with little or no fallowing and few inputs. Trees impact people and agriculture directly by maintaining and improving the soil, water, and vegetation base, and by providing multiple products and uses to meet basic domestic and farm needs. As a result, the loss of tree cover has serious social, farm, and environmental impacts. It also forces women and girls to walk greater distances in search of firewood and water at the expense of more productive activities such as farming, child care, and education. Female-headed households are particularly vulnerable because these tasks limit time to produce food for their families.

Today, farmers in the Eastern and Northern Uganda and across Uganda and the Africa face many inter-related constraints, Overdependence on rain fed crops like maize, cassava and ground nuts a drought-sensitive, nutrient-demanding crop, Declining crop yields and soil infertility as a result of monoculture, Limited credit and capital to scale up their agribusiness, Acute shortages of energy and water since these regions lie under the sub-Saharan belt meaning they have desert characteristics, Poor knowledge and skills since the country has undergone several years with disturbances from the insurgencies, Inadequate support services, and Weak market linkages. Under the weight of population growth, demands are increasing for land, food, water, shelter, energy and other basic necessities, yet little is being done to care for the natural resource base – the source for these essential needs. 

Collectively, these problems are leading to a vicious cycle of increasing poverty, hunger and diseases that are eroding the productive capacity of agriculture and the natural resource base.  Alleviating these growing challenges requires a long term commitment of resources under a strategy that tackles the root causes of the problems in an integrated holistic manner.   

It is clear from the foregoing that Uganda faces complex social, economic and environmental problems that resist swift and simple solutions. In our struggle to survive, people are unable to balance immediate short-term needs with sound resource use. Under the growing threat of climate change, there is an urgent need to reverse the situation.  

In line with Shelter Arm Organisation – SAO goal, a Society where the vulnerable groups of People are empowered to Attain Quality Life for self – sustenance. While simultaneously securing the sustainability of environmental management and crop production in the regions.  The vision is to build a platform for rural communities to thrive and prosper.  Central to this focus is a strategic framework that incorporates mechanisms for adaptation to climate change that are self-sufficient and sustainable.

Our model entails an approach comprising 5 inter-related themes:

1. Diversification of farming with a wide range of well-adapted crops and varieties to increase productivity, nutrition and incomes.
2. Introduction of low cost systems of irrigation that require low investments of capital, energy and labor for impact and sustainability. Irrigation will greatly enhance food security in times of scarcity, with surpluses for sale in years of abundance.
3. Incorporation of environmental stewardship in all land and water management practices with a focus on forestry, conservation agriculture, agroforestry, use of organic manures, crop rotations and intercropping with annual and perennial legumes.
4. Integration of basic health measures, to reduce the debilitating effects of common waterborne diseases, combined with better education opportunities for children to raise prospects for growth and development.
5. Transformation of livelihoods from basic subsistence to a business mindset driven by market forces and awareness about inter-dependencies with the natural resource base.

The premise to achieve the overall goal is predicated on the fact that most smallholder farmers live a hand to mouth existence. Few have opportunity to evaluate the environmental consequences of their actions, or to engage in the market place due to a lack of awareness and limited support services in the value chain. The strategy envisioned will secure resources and expertise to make the intended changes and adaptations a reality.

The strategy to achieve results involves an integrated approach that combines diversification, irrigation and conservation with simple interventions on health and education to generate sustainable improvements in rural livelihoods with reduced vulnerability at lower cost and with less labor. 

The underlying philosophy is to tackle the challenges from an integrated perspective to produce synergies that will transform livelihoods from aid-dependent subsistence to sustainable enterprises resilient to climate change.

What We Want

• Reduced soil and forest degradation from enhanced skills and knowledge among participating communities to sustainably manage their natural resources – increased tree planting, increased protection and management of natural woodlands, increased wood use efficiency; and increased use of alternative materials for construction and fuel.
• Reduced vulnerability of households to climate change, demonstrated by greater food security and resilience to droughts, floods, and outbreaks of disease and pests.
• Increased disposable income from rural enterprises linked to the production, processing and marketing of agricultural and natural resource products. Visible benefits include increased purchasing power for many basic needs e.g., farm inputs and equipment; farm expansion/diversification; upgrading homestead buildings; household needs for food, furniture, kitchen ware, farm tools, transport, shoes, clothing, radios, music boxes, etc.
• Documented experiences and successes to develop models for replication, expansion, and adaptation to other areas in each country as well as to neighboring countries.
• Reduced incidence of child labor and increased school attendance by children.
• Development of case studies illustrating successes and benefits of the program.
• Emergence of spin-off programs that address issues of mutual interest to all partners (e.g., introduction of irrigation and other technologies to increase food security and income; development of improved curricula for primary education; cross-over programs that address the inter-related elements of nutrition and health, especially HIV-AIDS).

Investment from other stakeholders to expand, strengthen or diversify the program.