How DRDIP is helping to safeguard the environment in Madi-Okollo

Aporo village is a chocolate-box found in Pawor Sub County in Madi-Okollo district. It is glowing with hope of going green in the near future. A group of zealous members of this community have embarked on an irreversible mission towards environmental conservation. They were given impetus by World Bank funding through the Office of the Prime Minister's Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP).

Setting up the briquettes making machine

Members of Aporo Energy Saving Stoves and Briquette Making received not just funding and training but encouragement from component II of DRDIP, seeking to preserve the delicate balance of nature. These dedicated members have pioneered innovative solutions to counter the ecological challenges faced by their community.

They are creating energy-saving stoves and briquettes, designed to reduce the reliance on charcoal consumption. The stoves, crafted with ingenuity, not only minimize charcoal usage but also seamlessly incorporates the use of briquettes. Briquettes are a concoction of garden waste, charcoal dust, and mud. Briquette's usage presents a sustainable alternative, rescuing the trees that once faced rampant cutting in Pawor Sub County.

Santos Wokorwach, the Chairperson of the Community Project Management Committee for Aporo Energy Saving Stoves and Briquette Making sees a glimmer of hope in the community initiated project. “Beyond salvaging the environment, this initiative offers a lifeline to the community by providing a sustainable source of income through the sale and use of stoves and briquettes”, he said.

Traditionally, residents of Aporo village relied heavily on selling charcoal, a practice that casted a dark shadow on green life in Pawor Sub County. With reducing levels of precipitation, people and livestock remained at crossroads because charcoal burning continued to eat up their once rich tree cover.

The DRDIP supported group is determined to revive the past. The plan is set: with stoves priced between Shs15,000 to Shs20,000, aiming to sell 20 to 30 units daily. The group plans to expand their reach. They envision saving enough funds to acquire a means of transport for efficient distribution of their eco-friendly products.

Group members making energy saving stoves

“We are targeting to make enough sales locally so that we can acquire a pickup truck that will support us to transport our products beyond the boundaries of Madi-Okollo district or even beyond West Nile region”, Wokorwach explains.

DRDIP’s financial support to a tune of Shs70 million for this community initiative is a boulder of hope in the fight against environmental degradation. The beneficiaries used this funding to procure machinery and initial materials required for making briquettes and energy saving stoves for commercial purposes.

Betty Acai, a dedicated member of the group, looks at the project as a catalyst for development. “Not only does it promise increased income for the community, it is also a barricade to environmental degradation”, she said. Acai highlights the detrimental impact of deforestation on crop yields, a problem that the energy-saving stoves and briquettes project seek to address.

Another group member, 24-year-old Doreen Fucaru, candidly admits to their past involvement in tree cutting for charcoal, a practice they have now forsaken with the advent of the DRDIP supported sub-project.

Fucaru said, “we have also been successful in sensitizing the communities to reconsider their choices by dropping the practice of tree cutting and adopting the energy saving options that come through our products”. Fucaru envisions the financial gains from their sustainable enterprise aiding in the education of their children and meeting health needs of their families.

The plight of environmental destruction extends beyond Aporo village, resonating across Madi-Okollo district, where charcoal business has become a survival necessity for many families. The consequences are stark, with massive environmental destruction leading to prolonged droughts and erratic weather patterns.

William Onzima, the District Natural Resource Officer, grimly reports that approximately 70% of the district's environment has succumbed to the ravages of charcoal business. 

“This is one of the best initiatives by DRDIP to conserve the environment and it requires more funding to expand it further beyond just one village, we hope the World Bank will continue funding this component in the second phase”, Onzima said.

The Aporo Energy Saving Stoves and Briquette Making project, initiated in mid-2023 stands as a beacon of hope in the fight against environmental degradation. The efforts of the group’s dedicated individuals echo beyond Aporo, aiming to create a ripple effect of positive change across Madi-Okollo district.