Nourish All is incredibly proud of our hard work this year, positively impacting hundreds across Uganda and Kenya. In 2023, we worked with three schools, three refugee settlements, two rural communities, and the urban capitals of Kampala and Nairobi.
We led 11 trainings directly benefitting over 350 people on topics ranging from mushroom cultivation to grain spawn production, permaculture, kitchen gardening, and food dehydrating.
We set up 3 mushroom production units that will yield over 2,500 lbs of mushrooms in their first harvest alone. We taught over 250 youth and adults our signature easy method for growing mushrooms in buckets. We equipped two grain spawn laboratories, along with advanced technical trainings. We planted 225 trees and established a demonstration syntropic food forest. We delivered 15 food dehydrators, donated seeds to five organizations, and gifted kitchen garden starter kits for 20 women.
Nourish All was invited to four conferences, featured on a Running with Mushrooms podcast, and quoted in an IFC study on private sector engagement with forcibly displaced peoples (to be published soon).
Lastly… we won the IGNITE Food Systems Challenge Uganda funded by World Food Program and USAID!
We couldn't have done it without our amazing partners, especially Hodari Foundation, Kijana Global Innovation School, and Trees that Feed Foundation (and more!).
We couldn't have done it without you -- our supporters.
We work incredibly hard to make sure your donations stretch as far as possible. And we're proud to say that we've done just that this year. Read on for some of our favorite highlights and exciting plans for 2024!
*HIGHLIGHTS*
World Food Program supports our Refugee Mushroom Growers Cooperative
Our Refugee Mushroom Growers Cooperative concept was selected as a winner of World Food Program's IGNITE Food Systems Challenge Uganda, funded by WFP, USAID, and Danida. We were one of five winners, out of 234 applicants. Samantha had the absolute honor to pitch representing Hodari Foundation, RRF, and our partnership using mushrooms as a solution for food security, nutrition, and livelihoods for refugees living in Uganda.
Kitchen Gardens & More at Kakuma Refugee Camp
Nourish All joined resident permaculture educator Sakina Kiriba in Kakuma Refugee Camp for a 2-day training for over 20 women on kitchen gardening, permaculture, and mushrooms. We distributed sack garden kits to each woman and made 5 demo mushroom gardens. Nourish All also visited over 10 refugee-led organizations and helped facilitate a half-day workshop for leaders on networking and resource mapping.
Permaculture and Syntropic Food Forests in Kenya
Alongside local partners CADIF Kenya and Sustainable Village Resources, Nourish All delivered an intensive 4-day training on food forestry, permaculture, and nutrition in western Kenya. We trained 15 community leaders from 4 countries on permaculture principles, nutritional design, syntropic food forestry, and introduction to mushrooms. We also created bokashi, portable mushroom gardens, and a demonstration food forest.
Spreading Breadfruit in East Africa
Nourish All is part of a working group, led and supported by Trees that Feed Foundation, to establish breadfruit as a staple crop for long-term food security in Uganda and Kenya. Nourish All has helped plant the first ever breadfruit trees in western Uganda and connected seedlings to schools, farms, and food forests in Kenya. We are trialing recipes, notably breadfruit flour porridge, to improve the nutrition of the current maize porridge that is a staple school meal in Uganda and Kenya.
*LOOKING AHEAD TO 2024*
None of this is possible without your support.
Thank you.