Community Transformation – Page 3

In the Field: Update from the Batwa Project

February 13, 2017

By: Lauren MaseyFor those of you interested in what has been happing on the ground- here are some photos and updates! Group Formation and Constitutions: Groups were formed last month, but communities had another chance to join the roster and finalize the groups. The communities decided to combine some groups for a new total of 8. Communities were prompted to develop group constitutions to improve a healthy, maintained garden demonstration. Groups picked one day that will be their training day

Community Transformation

A DIG Film

February 13, 2017

Travel with DIG to Western Kenya and see the power a single garden can have to transform the world. Film Credits to Bob Miller with sponsorship from the Simon Cyrene Foundation

Community Transformation

DIG’s Final Harvest in Lwala is Bittersweet

December 13, 2016

by: Noah Derman Aerial Shot of Lwala taken by Cleave Frink (Apple) It has been 5 years since I took my first trip with DIG to Africa. After an amazing visit to Zambia, I traveled with Andy Bryant, Executive Director of the Segal Family Foundation, and Catherine Magill, then acting DIG Program Coordinator, to Western Kenya. Our aim was to explore and vet potential program partnerships. DIG was looking at several opportunities for collaboration within Kenya and Uganda. Lwala Community Alliance

Community Transformation

Batwa Uganda Project Begins…

December 12, 2016

by: Lauren Masey Seasonal Calendar Activity in Rwaburindi Before arriving, I wanted to ensure I was adequately informed about the Batwa, but also wanted to make sure that I came with an open mind, a blank page with no premature opinions. I managed to use research papers, articles, and mainly YouTube videos to try and grasp what the situation waiting for in me in Uganda would be. After about three weeks of my fact finding mission, meeting with different groups,

Community Transformation

DIG’s San Diego 10 Year Anniversary Celebration

April 21, 2016

Thank you San Diego for an incredible evening at the top of the world. Our 10 Year Anniversary Celebration at Diamond View Tower was one for the record books. We have deeply appreciated your support year after year as we've worked together to help more communities around the world achieve food security, improved nutrition, climate resilience, and increased income through sustainable agriculture practices. What with the next 10 years bring! We can't wait to find out. Check out some wonderful photos from the event, taken by DIG supporter and event host, Big Mike Phillips.

Community Transformation

The Batwa of Southern Uganda

April 20, 2016

The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Southern Uganda is home to some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet. It’s sheltering trees and mist covered hillsides harken you back to an almost mythical time. While the forest is home to over 400 plant species, 120 different mammal species and 350 different species of birds, perhaps its most beloved and sought after inhabitants are the 320 mountain gorillas, roughly half of the world’s remaining population, who roam its protected grounds. In 1991

Community Transformation

The Wechaya HIV Support Group

September 8, 2015

It’s an early, cool Wednesday morning; the sun is still low in the sky, but the chorus of cicadas and crickets reminds us of the heat that’s coming. The Wechaya HIV Support Group is meeting in their community garden. Quiet talking and laughing can be heard as women dressed in vibrantly patterned skirts make their way down the narrow cow paths and gather in the shade of a broad mango tree. Organized through DIG’s Mobile Farmer Field School program,

Community Transformation

Day 4 & 5 of Living Below the Line for DIG: There’s No Me Without You

May 1, 2015

Finally, it’s Friday and I have only two meals left before my Live Below the Line challenge for Development in Gardening (DIG) is complete. This time tomorrow I’ll be sipping a cup of coffee and hopefully making some waffles with raspberries on top! It’s seem so close yet still so far away. It’s been a hard week, but it’s not as though I’ve suffered. I’ve actually eaten pretty well. Last night I couldn’t even finish my dinner as it was

Community Transformation

Day 3 of Living Below the Line for DIG: Unexpected Turn of Events

April 30, 2015

So pretty much the worst thing that could have happened to me in this Live Below the Line challenge for Development in Gardening where I have to eat and drink on $1.50 a day for a week, just happened…well, maybe not the worst thing but pretty close. Last night I was all set to make my precious dinner. After getting my son to bed, my stomach rumbling, somehow having resisted the urge to pick-up any uneaten cheese off his dinner plate, I got

Community Transformation

Day 2 of Living Below the Line for DIG: The Diversity of Food

April 29, 2015

One of the hardest things about my challenge to Live Below the Line for Development in Gardening (DIG) is trying to get creative with the materials I purchased. Brown rice, regular and sweet potatoes, a fairly uninteresting frozen vegetable mix, black beans, and some other staples don’t provide much pop when you’re eating them every day. I would have loved to have bought a little avocado, some limes, a little ginger, some mango, but I knew if I purchased any of these instead of the staples

Community Transformation

Why Home Gardens are Important!

December 2, 2014

DIG first started doing home gardens in 2006 thanks to Koumba! While Koumba was being inspired by DIG’s training, we were being inspired by her. It was she who asked for and received DIG’s first Home Garden. She asked if we could help her with some of the initial seed money to get a garden started in the small space behind her home. Koumba knew she could feed her family from this otherwise discarded space and would use her

Community Transformation

A True Multi-Disciplinary Approach: Fighting Stigma, Improving Health, and Building Livelihoods in a Sustainable Way

April 15, 2014

By: Maggie Black Joseph and Rugina Abok have an uphill struggle to make ends meet. Both are living with HIV, which in Rongo district, Western Kenya, has a 16-20% prevalence rate, well above the national average of 12%. Of their five children, four are now married and off their hands, but their youngest son, Meshak, 14-years-old is still in primary school. His future is what concerns them most. Being open about HIV is still difficult because of the stigma