The youth have always been an important part of Rukararwe. Since 1985 they were involved in tree planting. Rukararwe hosted many seminars to teach different schools and churches about the environment, where they handed out tree seedlings for the participants to plant back at their homes or establishment.
Even up to now the youth are still involved in these activities, especially projects related to environmental conservation and sustaining oneself.
Projects:
- Environmental conservation/Loving Nature
- Tree planting
- Loving nature campaign
- Self-sustaining projects
- Goat projects
- Zero grazing
- Poultry
- Beekeeping apiary
- Earth Bricks
- Renewable Energies
Environmental Conservation/Loving Nature
Some of the Youth collecting waste and assorting it in the waste bin, created the day before.
As it is the aim of Rukararwe to conserve and protect our environment, Rukararwe youth has always been the driving force of influencing mostly other youth in different communities, especially in schools, churches, and other institutions.
Tree planting
Tree planting is lifesaving. Our members have engaged in planting indigenous tree species that are friendly to our environment. We started this project back in 2020 when we planted 1000 trees with the aim of enlarging our forest area from currently 3 ha to 10 ha. In 2021 we planted 5000 more seedlings. We continue to also plant trees in different towns in Greater Bushenyi and the community we are coming from.
Loving Nature
With the loving nature campaign, the youth try to tackle the problem of waste pollution by cleaning towns and organizing excursions to different national parks and environmental sites like Kalinzu Rainforest, sensitizing on the need to protect nature. In 2021 we constructed a waste assorting site within the Rukararwe premises for plastic and compost.
Self-sustaining projects
These projects aim to make the youth more self-reliant and help them in gaining funds for their future.
Goat project
Starting in February 2021, this is one way of involving and engaging youth in activities that are self-sustainable.
Here members who subscribe to RUKARARWE YOUTH GROUP get goats and when they produce afterwards the beneficiaries pass on the mature goats to members who didn’t get one from the beginning.
Zero grazing
This is where animals are kept and fed inside, as to require less space, protect them from bad weather conditions, infections through parasites and collect their manure easily. When the project started in 2016, 4 cows were given out in total. One went to Rukararwe farmers, another one to the grieving and counselling group, one to staff and the last one went to the youth group.
For the youth, a group of 5 members was formed, each member was helped to construct a cowshed, pasture gardens, and supplied with a knapsack sprayer and the needed medication for the first 3 months.
Poultry
In 2018 we started this project with 25 hens. The Beneficiaries keep them in their homes to either generate income through selling the eggs or fighting malnutrition through eating them themselves. By now more than 20 members have benefitted from the project and currently, they own 115 chickens in total.
Beekeeping /apiary
11 members of our youth group have the responsibility for 8 beehives on our Rukararwe premises. Here members learn from an experienced beekeeper how to establish and look after the beehives. When time is ready for harvesting the honey, the profits of that sale go back into the maintenance and expansion of the project.