Natural Resource Department

Degraded land: RRHS Natural Resource Department -Model Village.

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Did  You Know that Climate Change is Now a Global Issue?

Follow the Story; And take Action. " We have sensitized our rural communities/ Land owners to plant trees; but currently, we are not able to provide enough tree seedlings"- We appeal to all willing persons in the world to extend to us a helping hand in kind or financial.

Most people on the rural Rwenzori Mountain such as communities in our operation area, are vulnerable to climate change impacts due to an increasing population growth in the area with over dependence on natural resources. Investigated by Irumba Patrick-Head of  RRHS -Natural Resource Department. 
 Email: rrhsnr40@gmail.com/ who said the following:

"After my Degree in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Management, it was not easy for me to get job that is in line with my profession; I decided to go teaching. Four years after, I applied to Rwenzori Rural Health Services, a community based organization that was founded the year 2005 to improve rural health services. My plan was to find a way of getting the means of collaborating with rural vulnerable  communities; staying on the hills to ensure that I share with them; climate change adaptation strategies. As a means of contributing to ending the Global Issue of Climate Change. And teaching  on the principles of climate Smart conservation. 

I am happy that Rwenzori Rural Health Services (RRHS)  in January  2019, accepted me to work with them as Head of Natural Resource Department. Before,  RRHS had done a lot of interventions, my job was just to re-frame their interventions according to projects.  At Rwenzori Rural Health Services, I have helped to set the Baseline of Climate Change adaptation project, after making the Situation Analysis.  It is at this point that I appeal to all Climate Change Champions Globally to link up with our Natural Resource Department so as to share experiences in order to realize the desired impact. As a young Environmental and Natural Resource Management Graduate, I believe that starting with  a small  community with a plan of growing bigger is the best strategy. With this Department, we aim at promoting SDGS NO. 13  and No. 17. The above photo shows our initial project  area.  Follow the story."

You are looking at RRHS -Water tank reserving gravity water:

Because our area of work is populated and degraded  with no rains to support the germination of micro-wood lots, and agro-Forestry trees, we have already installed a big water  reservoir tank. It is this same tank that will support this community  to green their hills and smartly conserve Nature. Because of the big issue " Climate Change" I have guided this community to start the climate change adaptation in a simple way. 

Our biggest challenge now is to link this community with development partners  that can finance the construction or purchase of extra  water tanks, water sprinkles, solar  panels  and pipes that will run across hills taking water to different  water points. we shall  also need to have pressure break tank in between, to cut the distance of beneficiaries walking to collect water for watering /supplementing the sprinklers. In addition, we shall strongly need partners to support us with Seeds of different tree species, that  can be planted in nursery beds and thereafter be distributed freely on guided principles. The big Chance is that i Irumba Patrick has  prior experience in Environmental conservation. Just plan a visit to our project area.

Improved Cook Stoves as a measure of reducing /cutting of the existing trees for making Charcoal:

Among the various technologies  RRHS  Natural resource department has  introduced is the  heating and cooking methods, using  Improved cook stoves to conserve Energy in the environment. By using the improved stoves, the amount of toxic smoke produced can be reduced and health risks to the family  minimized. In addition, the improved cook stoves will quickly increase on the rate of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere thus reducing on the green gas effect. Currently, we are looking for partners that can  help us subsidize prices of such Cook stoves as we take them to beneficiaries.  Any contribution you may think of towards subsidizing prices of these improved cook stoves, will highly be appreciated. We shall always buy the cook stoves from the location indicated below. 

Deforestation:

In this Community, mostly Man has been the main factor in  cutting trees, to make charcoal  for his family  survival.

Climate Change Champions; here is an issue of Debate " A man cuts a  tree in his Garden to get income in order to educate his child.  And a Change agent comes and say " Do not cut a  tree without replacement,". This illiterate  Man is disturbed.  " Think about it ! " How do we help this Man ?

RRHS  Natural Resource Department New Model that needs Debate: "Climate Smart Holistic Development."

Natural Resource Department -Young  Climate Change Advocates:

RRHS Natural Resource Department just organized a group of Men and Women to start talking on Climate Change adaptation strategies. These young Climate Change advocates need to be exposed; so that they can understand  well, what we are talking about " The major Issue Climate Change". Dear Champions of Climate Change; do you see where we can take this group to learn about about Climate change?

And would you be able to see where we can get the budget for such activity?

Think about it and plan to share with us. 

Just send us an email at rrhsnr40@gmail.com 









Reflecting to the past:

Aged people in communities have said "in the past, the hill you  see on  top of this blog post was covered with trees. All of them have been destroyed due to man's activities." We need to think of increasing  tree cover  in order to start getting " Fog " - a thick cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere or near the earth's surface which obscures or restricts visibility.  As RRHS Natural Resource Department, we aim at Greening and conserving Nature. We wish to  work with others to do this; plan to visit our project area, and tell a friend. It will be a Golden opportunity for me and my community  to see most degraded hills in this community becoming  green.

We Need to Start Seeing Fog Again. (We can Join Hands and start any time)  

Among other interventions that our Natural Resource Department is doing is "educating" communities to stop Drying Wetlands. We do this activity without any external support and our interventions are still limited. With your connections, we trust to reach many villages.  See pictures of our work and follow the story. 

 

More interventions: Rwenzori Rural Health Services-Organisation, has done a big contribution towards educating communities on what can be done to reduce on the global issue Climate Change. What I only see that this organization has never been well linked to Development partners. It is at this point that I appeal to all development organization to look for this organization and start planning rural projects together.  

Rain water Harvesting System to reduce Climate Change in Kasese District -Uganda -East Africa:

More than 32 Rain Water Harvesting tanks have been built on people's homes. Follow the story below, to see  the Key Facts:

Key  facts:

• This activity has the ability to cut 30% of water used during the rainy season. 
• The benefits of rainwater utilization will be increased when a tank is used to store water;
• So far, this activity has engaged a neighbourhood consisting of about 40 households  to utilize  rainwater harvesting system
• Over 2000 people have directly benefited from this activity.

The problem:

Rukoki Sub county is an area  most impacted by the effects of climate change. Alternating floods and drought already plague the place and are expected to increase. With the  population growth per year, this process creates much bigger runoff such that rainwater cannot be adequately absorbed into the ground. 

Solution:

During the rainy season, a rain harvesting system (water tank ) is used to catch and collect rainwater which would have been ground run-off to cause erosion. This water is then available for people to use and consume during the dry season when there is a shortage of clean water. Likewise, a rain harvesting system (absorption well design) can also capture rainwater and funnel it directly into the ground in order to conserve ground water in the future.

Helping the planet:

This activity aims to be a sustainable alternative source for clean water during a drought and help implement adaptation measures to reduce flooding in down hills.

Helping people:

Poor people are the most vulnerable to climate change impacts. They have difficulties in accessing public and social facilities, including clean water.

Scaling Up:

This project has the potential to grow, working together, we may construct more  tanks. We only need to start planning.

Rwenzori Rural Health Services and Smart Gardening:

Since women are the most vulnerable Audience to climate change, RRHS has taken the initiative to prepare and empower women to live along side climate change; follow the story below and tell a friend.
Below is an example of an empowered  rural woman trained in smart gardening. Did you know that Smart Gardening can make you produce food even in drought periods? 
With the partnership with your organisation, we can  scale up this project and in so doing, we shall be helping the people and the planet. Do  you know how we can do this? Just email to us for more facts. 

RRHS -Natural Resource Department and  agroforestry:

We have in the past trained communities to practice agroforestry to improve on their crop yields as well as promoting ecological functioning of different ecosystems. See below for details:

Our  interventions have mostly targeted women  as vulnerable  primary users of Natural resources. And this makes them the most vulnerable victims of climate change. As young climate change actors, we have taken the initiative to engage the rural women to be our first priority in addressing the disaster. The chance is that we have already gravitated water to all our sites. But our biggest challenge is to be linked to development partners that can supplement our efforts by providing to us Tree seeds and supplies to help us establish a Tree Nursery Bed to support our communities.  

Mr. Patrick Irumba and Our Driver Samson In the Field Delivering Tree Plant-lets. As one of the ways of conserving Nature. In Nyakasonjo Village. 

Out of our Goal of Greening and Conserving for the future through planting  200,000 plant-lets in two annual seasons, we secured an  opportunity of getting 300 plant lets. We completely failed to distribute them amongst the Needy beneficiaries. This is the time for you to link us to Development partners. Just send us an email or plan a visit: rrhsnr40@gmail.com/

Improved Wood Fuel-Saving Cooking Stoves:

RRHS- Natural Resource Department initiative  in reducing cutting down of trees through introducing improved wood fuel saving cook stoves. In Nyakasojo Community.  One of the improved cook stove  Beneficiary, elaborates to the RRHS -Executive Director, how efficient, Saving and effective the Cook stove is.  The Director is at a look, listening. 

In the right corner, your seeing the uninstalled improved energy saving cook stove. The stove consumes pruned droppings as shown by the Director in the picture above.  There is no need of cutting huge trunks/ logs of trees for fuel. Thus saving  Nature.

Fruit Tree Seedlings For Health And Healing the Mother Earth: 

Our Natural Resource Department is working hard on the ground  to provide fruit trees to rural communities in our operation area,  in order to increase access to sustainable nutrition, provide income for families in poverty, and help clean the environment. We are distributing trees directly to households in low-income settings, & holding educational workshops on how to care for trees to most benefit from the harvest. We plan to expand our tree Nursery project so that we initiate  orchards  in schools, health clinics, & orphanages and homes in the area  to promote  health & healing the mother earth. Below are Jack Fruit seedlings being nurtured in our small tree Nursery Bed. 

Jack Fruits being Nurtured in our Tree Nursery Bed. We also have the medicinal Fruits. all to be supplied in March April Rains 2020. 

                        

                     

Agreveria Seedlings being Nurtured for free distribution -March April Rains 2020.

                

       

Goal 13 - Climate Action:

Rwenzori Rural Health Services Natural Resource Department is struggling to contribute to the Major Goal for SDG 13: by 2030. Reinforce adaptive capacity and resilience to natural disasters and hazards related to climate change in our operation area, improving awareness-raising, education, institutional and human capacity on mitigation, impact reduction, early warning and adaptation to climate change.

As a department, we resolved to relate with partners and work to contribute  in achieving the under listed targets:

RRHS Natural Resource Department Targets to the environment:

• Target 1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in our operation area. 

• Target 2: Integrate climate change measures into organization activities, strategies and planning.

• Target 3: Improve education, awareness-raising, human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.

 Community Beneficiaries, seriously taking seedlings to their Gardens for planting.

Taking seedlings for planting continues. 

 Community Members are organizing to take the seedling to their Gardens for planting after receiving them freely.

More distribution of seedlings between Community Members 

Community Members continue taking tree seedlings for planting. " We Must plant trees to have our hills green." 

Mass Education on Tree Planting Best practices in progress. The Current challenge Now: We have sensitized our rural communities/ land owners to plant trees, but we are unable to provide enough. we appeal to the world community, Climate change champions to extend to us a helping hand; financially or in Kind.  

During the rain Season, we often transport lorries packed with tree seedlings for planting. The lorry you see above has gone over 6 Km Over the hill taking tree seedling to the farmers for free distribution. We need to relate with you over their. Just drop to us an email at rrhs40@gmail.com 

Due to climatic situations, we decided to implement a one year climate SMART Agriculture project.

we selected thirty farmers from thirty house holds from Kibolhu village-Bughaura road -Rukoki sub county.  Visit our Facebook to view some of the activities we do.

 

I am excited that Our Natural resource department, in March 2022, received a development grant to support our work in -Climate Smart Agriculture. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) - Climate smart agriculture, is an integrated approach to managing landscapes—cropland, livestock, forests and fisheries--that address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change. 

This is a one year project ending November 2022. 

 

Methodology:

. The project focuses on driving transformation in agriculture and tackling the root causes of climate change, youth unemployment, gender inequality, promoting small animals like rabbits, Goats  for nutrition and smart gardens at house hold level in the project targeted communities critically benefiting 30 farmers as key ambassadors  from 30 households. For the initial eleven month’s period  ending November 2022.

The funds for this project have been released for the specific Goal: To Strengthen Small – holder farmer livelihoods and improve their resilience to climate change through the adoption of at least six   Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies and practices. During a community meeting, the technologies analyzed as appeared in the initial project survey were: Soil and water conservation, Good agronomic practices, vegetable integration, Agro forestry, clean cooking, compound health and youth employment, promoting small animals to improve on the nutrition status of communities in Kibolhu village –Rukoki Sub County respectively. All the interventions have been done successfully, and reports are in place. 

new updates: 

Since 2019, our commitment to land restoration has brought life back to this landscape, and now, seeing the fog roll in once more feels like a true victory. It is a powerful sign that the natural cycles are healing, bringing moisture and vitality back to the soil. We are filled with excitement and hope, knowing that our work is helping to revive not just the land, but the very climate that sustains it. we appeal to climate change champions to visit us for experince sharing.

To help our on line friends, be in position to combare the out come of our 2019 -and 2026 land restoration efforts, find below the land scape photo before our intervetions. We are implementing two projects on this land scape 1. Greening and conserving for the future and Streagthening women to plant fruit trees.

 

Date: 12 March 2026

The Return of the Fog: A Story of Land Restoration in Nyakasonjo Village

In the hills of Nyakasonjo village, Nyakabingo-Uganda, the morning mist is more than just weather. It is a symbol of hope, resilience, and the remarkable power of nature to heal.

Just seven years ago, this landscape told a different story. In 2019, the hills were a portrait of ecological distress. Unsustainable farming, rampant deforestation for charcoal production, and overgrazing had stripped the fertile slopes bare, leaving them deeply eroded. The vital springs that once sustained the community had dwindled to a trickle, forcing women and children to walk greater distances in search of water. This was not just an environmental crisis; it was a public health emergency that directly threatened the food security and well-being of the families served by Rwenzori Rural Health Services (RRHS).

A Holistic Prescription for the Land

Recognizing the undeniable link between a healthy environment and a healthy community, RRHS’s Natural Resource Department took action. We launched an ambitious, community-centered restoration project built on a holistic approach with three key strategies:

·       🌳 Agroforestry: We mobilized community members to plant trees on the slopes, not as a separate activity, but integrated with their farms. This helps to restore soil fertility, provide shade, and prevent erosion.

·       💧 Soil and Water Conservation: We worked with the community to dig trenches, build terraces, and protect water catchment areas to slow down rainwater, allowing it to soak into the ground and recharge the springs.

·       🤝 Community Empowerment: Lasting change requires local ownership. We held extensive trainings on sustainable farming and established community bylaws to protect the regenerating forests. We also helped create alternative income sources to reduce dependence on charcoal burning.

Seven Years Later: The Mist Returns

The transformation we see today, seven years on, is nothing short of remarkable. While we measure success in data and reports, the most celebrated indicator is one the community itself points to every morning: the fog has returned.

A soft mist now regularly settles over the once-barren hills—a clear and visible sign of a revived microclimate, with more moisture in the air and on the land.

·       🌊 Restored Hydrology: The springs, which had nearly dried up, are flowing again. This reliable source of clean water has not only improved health but has also sparked new opportunities, enabling small businesses like brick-making and vegetable gardens to flourish.

·       💰 Improved Livelihoods: Farmers now speak proudly of how their trees provide a sustainable source of firewood simply by pruning the branches, protecting the remaining natural forests.

·       ❤️ Community Pride: The people of Nyakasonjo have transformed from passive victims of degradation into passionate guardians of their environment.

[Photo 2: The same landscape in 2026 now covered with morning fog.]
*The same landscape in 2026, now blanketed in life-giving morning fog—a powerful symbol of the land's recovery.*

A Model for Hope, An Appeal for Action

The success in Nyakasonjo is a powerful, living model. It proves that even severely degraded land can be revived through committed partnership, a holistic approach, and the unwavering spirit of a community. RRHS continues to support these guardians of the hills, ensuring they remain green and misty for generations to come.

The return of the fog is more than an ecological victory; it is a testament to what is possible when we work with nature, not against it.

We at RRHS appeal to climate change champions, development partners, and individuals like you. Support our efforts. Visit us for experience sharing. Join hands with us to raise the voices of the voiceless and heal our corner of the globe.

 This  page is still under development. Feel free to link up with us Email: rrhsnr40@gmail.com/