“Welcome to my market!”
Peter Musimbi welcomes us as we step between the calliandra trees that line his Forest Garden and approach his permagarden beds. Each bed contains tiny sprouts of food crops like sukuma wiki (ready for harvest!), cow peas and garden peas. This “market” is active all year long, and the profits buy basic household necessities for his family.
One of the first things you notice about Peter’s Forest Garden is the towering Living Fence.
Peter’s Living Fence
Emma, a Trees for the Future Lead Technician in Mount Elgon, Uganda, tells us Peter is just about to prune his Living Fence. He will use the cuttings as fodder for his livestock, the branches as firewood, and will sell the rest to a wholesale buyer of livestock fodder.
Peter says that his Living Fence has resolved the disagreements with his neighbors. Before, their animals wandered onto his farm and ruined his crops.
The Living Fence offers another major benefit- firewood.
Before, his family could only eat one meal a day. Now, they eat three meals a day!
Earning a Regular Income
As we continued on, to both our left and right, were expansive fields of sweet potatoes and yams. Within them, dozens of banana trees grow high in alleys. He tells us he can sell just one bunch of bananas for 40,000 Ugandan shillings, around $10 USD. That is more than five times over the global poverty threshold of $2.15 USD a day. The 40+ banana trees in his Forest Garden are just one of more than a dozen products he’s able to sell from his Forest Garden. It’s amazing to see what he’s been able to achieve in just three years.
A Brighter Future
“I was an accountant,” Peter shares, “but when the [Trees for the Future] project came, I decided to see what I could get out of it. Here, I can get money daily.”
“Even when the project [ends], I’ll be somebody. I won’t need to beg. I will be able to do this on my own.”
Halfway through his third year in the TREES program, Peter is eager to share what he’s learned with others.
As we congratulate Peter on his success, he steps back and gestures to his wife, Jacqueline.
“She helps me very much. She is a great part of my success.”