45 Farmers Movement: Lucy’s Walk-Away Test in Kihondo

We believe true impact is when a community can say, “We’ve got this, keep walking.”

In Kihondo Village, Western Uganda, a young woman named Atuhaire Lucy and a small pod of changemakers just proved that belief right. Their work is a living “walk-away test”: the association, the savings, the trainings, the leadership, all owned locally. As we head into fundraising, this is the future you’re fueling.

Big idea: Transformation sticks when communities design, fund, and lead their own solutions.

When Lucy left for Mountains of the Moon University (MMU), she carried her community with her. At MMU, she joined the Agroecology Club, our campus partner, and participated in the Roots Africa Changemakers Program. In early sessions, she mapped Kihondo’s pain points with clear eyes:

• Low crop productivity and soil degradation

• Low household incomes and disunity

• Poor farming practices, limited resources, and limited market access

With fellow pod members Muhabuzi Nelius, Mayobo Peterson, and Alice Lucy convened a community dialogue. Out of that room came a name, a structure, and a promise:
Kihondo Farmers Association (founded June 2025 - after our National Campus tour in Uganda by our incredible facilitators, Dave Pearce, the visionary behind Papa’s Pumpkin Patch, one of the Top 10 Pumpkin Patches in the U.S. and a leader in Agritourism in North America. Kerrin Massarueh, our Founder & Executive Director of BMoreAg Foundation, Elly Kasirye, our Regional Director for East Africa and Chairperson of the Wakiso District Human Rights Commission, and Bazira Tadeo, our in-country Coordinator. ) to increase household incomes, ensure food sovereignty, and steward the environment.

Fifteen farmers joined on day one. It was small. It was enough.

Simple plan, disciplined habits:

1. Weekly Savings: Each member committed UGX 2,000 per week.

2. Practical Demos: The pod set up a piggery farm to model what they teach; Lucy planted a banana demonstration garden.

3. Peer-led Training: Crop production, small livestock management, and soil-smart practices delivered by neighbors, for neighbors.

What made it stick: low-barrier steps anyone can do, immediate wins you can see, and leaders you already trust.

Achievements to date:

• ✅ Official registration of Kihondo Farmers Association

• 💰 UGX 1,316,000 raised by members’ savings to date

• 🐖 Two pigs were purchased for the association enterprise

• 🌳 3,000 trees planted for long-term soil and climate resilience

• 🤝 Unity strengthened members show up, decide together, act together

• 🍌 Banana plantations improved through the demo and peer replication

• 🏠 Modern pigsty established a practical, local learning site

• 👩🏾‍🦱👨🏾‍🦱 Women and youth in leadership, not just attendance

Stage of Growth: Discovery → Transformation.
They didn’t just pilot; they institutionalized: savings, training, assets, and governance are in place.

Standing by the new pigsty, Lucy says little. She doesn’t have to. A line of farmers is already measuring housing slats and feed ratios; a few meters away, a youth group debates the next batch of seedlings. Someone notes that the bananas at the demo plot look “cleaner” since mulching less run-off after the last rain.

This is what ownership looks like: curiosity, repetition, and pride.

Pull-quote: “We are not waiting for help. We’re building with what we have and inviting partners to walk with us.”

So what? Because farmers in Kihondo aren’t asking for a rescue; they’re asking for a runway. They’ve proven they’ll do the work. Your gift doesn’t “deliver” transformation; it accelerates what’s already moving.

Now what? Help us replicate this “walk-away test” across more villages:

• Fund 10 new pods to launch associations like Kihondo’s

• Equip 20 demo sites (piggery, bananas, legumes, soil health)

• Grow savings groups with startup kits and governance coaching

• Plant 15,000 more trees to lock in soil and shade for yields

Invest to back farmer-owned solutions that last beyond any one project cycle.

To Lucy, Nelius, Peterson, Alice, and every farmer who put in sweat and savings: you’re the authors of this story. We’re honored to be your guide on the side.

To our supporters: expect a follow-up Impact Flyer with the latest numbers and a short video reel from Kihondo. If you want to underwrite a new pod, reply “Pod Sponsor” and we’ll send a one-pager.

We design every intervention so that, if we had to walk away tomorrow, the work keeps going with savings, leadership, assets, and know-how rooted locally. Kihondo passed. Let’s help the next 10 communities pass, too.