Christian Life Pre and Primary School

19/08/2026

🌱 Africa Permaculture Support Network (APSN) — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization — Weekly Update 🫶
🌍 Growing Resilient Communities Together
📍 Gabiro Benedict (Uganda)
🏢 Christian Life Pre & Primary School
📅 Wednesday, August 19, 2026

👉 Support this work here:
https://givebutter.com/gabirofarmproject

Hello dear friends and supporters 🙏💛,

Since my last update, we have continued preparing the school garden for the rainy season. This week, I worked alongside 13 farmers to dig the land and plant maize seeds across approximately half an acre.

Our regenerative farming program is continuing to show encouraging progress. The trees in our agroforestry system are increasing in size and quality, and we are also seeing signs that the fertility of the soil is improving. The crops planted between the trees are showing good quality, which gives us encouragement that the agroforestry system is strengthening the land over time.

We still face challenges because we do not have enough small animals to produce the quantities of farmyard manure and organic pesticides needed for the garden. Goats and sheep would help us increase these organic inputs and continue building healthier soils and crops.

Our skills training program also continues, with four volunteer facilitators teaching sewing and knitting. Their monthly allowances remain our most urgent need this week. Each facilitator requires $133 USD per month, for a combined monthly amount of $532 USD. Providing these allowances will help us encourage and retain the facilitators who are giving their time to teach practical skills to our learners.

The need to improve our classrooms also remains unresolved. Our current classrooms are mainly makeshift structures, and there has been no progress on the construction since last week. The $2,662 USD classroom budget would allow us to make bricks, purchase iron sheets, and establish a three-classroom block to provide a safer and more durable learning environment for the children.

As we prepare for the beginning of the next term, we also need 250 kg of maize flour. We expect this amount to support the school feeding program for approximately two weeks.

Project Development Needs (USD):
• Garden tools — $200 USD
• 4 goats — $140 USD
• 4 sheep — $130 USD

Program Support Needs (USD):
• Fabric for sewing and knitting skills training — $800 USD
• Monthly allowances for 4 facilitators ($133 each) — $532 USD

Operational Needs (USD):
• 250 kg of maize flour — $170 USD

Infrastructure Needs (USD):
• Construction of a three-classroom block — $2,662 USD

TOTAL ESTIMATED NEEDS: $4,634 USD

If you feel moved to support this work, please consider donating or sharing here:
👉 https://givebutter.com/gabirofarmproject

Thank you for standing with Christian Life Pre & Primary School. 🙏💛

🌍 Many hands make light work.

🌱 Follow the official APSN 501(c)(3) page for more updates:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584476080233&mibextid=ZbWKwL

11/08/2026

🌱 Africa Permaculture Support Network (APSN) — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization — Weekly Update 🫶
🌍 Growing Resilient Communities Together
📍 Gabiro Benedict (Uganda)
🏢 Christian Life Pre & Primary School
📅 Tuesday, August 11, 2026

👉 Support this work here:
https://givebutter.com/gabirofarmproject

Hello dear friends and supporters 🙏💛,

Since my last update, I have been working together with our program members to prepare the school garden for farming during this rainy season. We currently have 13 volunteers helping with the garden work, and the intervals of rain are giving us a good opportunity to prepare the land and continue strengthening our regenerative agriculture and permaculture practices.

I am also very grateful to share an important improvement since my previous update. We now have a functioning solar power system, which is providing electricity for recharging our devices and lighting. This has addressed one of the major challenges we had been facing and is helping our teaching, learning, and communication activities.

Alongside the garden work, our practical skills training program continues to grow. We originally had two volunteer facilitators teaching sewing, and we have now added two more facilitators to teach knitting. Approximately 312 learners are currently participating in sewing and knitting activities. With enough fabric, the learners will be able to practice making useful items such as dresses, shorts, and skirts.

At the moment, paying allowances to these four facilitators is our most urgent need. Each facilitator requires $133 USD per month, making the confirmed monthly total $532 USD. Their continued involvement is important for sustaining the practical skills training that our learners are receiving.

We also continue facing challenges in the school garden because we do not have enough garden tools or small animals to produce the quantities of manure we need. Goats and sheep would help provide manure for improving soil fertility and supporting healthier crop production.

Another major need is improving our classrooms. Our current classrooms are makeshift structures with papyrus walls, and we worry about their safety around the children. The proposed $2,662 USD construction budget would allow us to make bricks, purchase iron sheets, and establish a three-classroom block to provide a safer and more durable learning environment.

We also still need 250 kg of maize flour, which we expect will help support the school feeding program through the remaining period before the term closes.

Project Development Needs (USD):
• Garden tools — $200 USD
• 4 goats — $140 USD
• 4 sheep — $130 USD

Program Support Needs (USD):
• Fabric for sewing and knitting skills training — $800 USD
• Monthly allowances for 4 facilitators ($133 each) — $532 USD

Operational Needs (USD):
• 250 kg of maize flour — $170 USD

Infrastructure Needs (USD):
• Construction of a three-classroom block — $2,662 USD

TOTAL ESTIMATED NEEDS: $4,634 USD

If you feel moved to support this work, please consider donating or sharing here:
👉 https://givebutter.com/gabirofarmproject

Thank you for standing with Christian Life Pre & Primary School. 🙏💛

🌍 Many hands make light work.

🌱 Follow the official APSN 501(c)(3) page for more updates:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584476080233&mibextid=ZbWKwL

10/08/2026

🌿 Tick Berry (Lantana camara) – A Plant of Contradictions
🏝️ Touristic & Ornamental Value
· Beautiful & Colourful: Clusters of flowers that shift from yellow to orange, pink, and red make it a popular ornamental plant in tropical gardens.
· Attracts Wildlife: Draws butterflies and bees, making it useful for butterfly parks and ecotourism.
· Aromatic: Its "tutti frutti" scented blooms add sensory appeal.
· Caution: Dense, thorny thickets can limit access to natural areas and spread easily in tourism-disturbed zones.
🌱 Regenerative Farming Challenges
· Highly Invasive: Listed among the world's 100 worst invasive species—forms dense thickets that outcompete crops and native plants.
· Allelopathic: Releases chemicals into the soil that suppress the growth of other plants.
· Toxic to Livestock: Contains lantadenes that poison grazing animals—keep it away from pastures.
· Needs Active Management: Must be carefully controlled (cutting, burning) rather than actively cultivated on farms.
⚗️ Powerful Natural Pesticide
· Excellent Tick Control: Highly effective against cattle ticks (Rhipicephalus microplus)—lives up to its name!
· Broad-Spectrum Insecticide: Kills fall armyworm, aphids, grain weevils, stalk borers, and mites.
· How It Works: Contains compounds like β-caryophyllene and lantadene that disrupt insect nervous systems—acts as contact poison and fumigant.
· DIY Spray: Crush fresh leaves, soak in water, strain, and spray on crops. Apply twice weekly for best results.

04/08/2026

🌿 Nature’s Own Pest Control: The Power of Tephrosia 💚
Did you know that the humble Tephrosia plant is one of nature's most effective insecticides? At Christian Life Pre & Primary School’s regenerative farm, we are harnessing its power to protect our crops—naturally and safely! Here’s how it works:
⚗️ The Science Behind It
Tephrosia produces powerful bioactive compounds called rotenoids—mainly rotenone, deguelin, rotenolone, and tephrosin. These compounds work together in an additive and synergistic fashion, making the plant highly effective against a wide range of pests. In fact, extracts from some Tephrosia strains have been shown to cause 100% mortality in aphids and over 90% mortality in whiteflies!
🐛 Which Pests Does It Control?
Tephrosia is a broad-spectrum natural insecticide that targets:
· Termites, ants, beetles, aphids, and cutworms
· Stalk borers, weevils, and flies
· Fall armyworm, caterpillars, and ticks
· Lice and fleas
🌍 Safe & Sustainable
· Breaks down quickly: Rotenone breaks down in about 3 days, making it environmentally friendly
· No expensive chemicals: Farmers can make their own extract at almost no cost
· Dual purpose: After extracting the insecticide, the leftover plant material can be used as nitrogen-rich manure
👩‍🌾 How to Make It (Simple Method)
1. Harvest fresh Tephrosia leaves
2. Pound or crush the leaves
3. Soak in water (1 kg leaves per 5 litres water) for 2 hours, or boil for 30 minutes
4. Filter using a cloth and spray directly onto crops
5. Apply at least twice a week for effective control
Tephrosia is proof that the best solutions come straight from nature. 🌱

28/07/2026

🌱 Africa Permaculture Support Network (APSN) — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization — Weekly Update 🫶
🌍 Growing Resilient Communities Together
📍 Gabiro Benedict (Uganda)
🏢 Christian Life Pre & Primary School
📅 Tuesday, July 28, 2026

👉 Support this work here:
https://givebutter.com/gabirofarmproject

Hello dear friends and supporters 🙏💛,

Since my last update, we harvested 50 kilograms of sorghum from our school garden. This sorghum will be used to prepare breakfast porridge for the children. We also have sweet potatoes and cabbages available to strengthen the children’s lunchtime meals. Together, these harvests have helped provide enough food to sustain our school feeding program for the whole term.

We also continued preparing compost manure for farming during the upcoming rainy season. We are building a large heap of compost that we hope will cover a wide area of the school garden and improve soil fertility for future planting.

I am also very grateful to share that our urgent solar-power challenge has now been addressed. Our beloved partner, Chew Stoke Church School, generously donated the funds needed to purchase the complete solar panel and battery system. The system has now been purchased and installed, allowing us to recharge our iPads and other electronic devices safely at school. This will strengthen teaching, learning, communication, and access to downloadable educational materials.

Although we are celebrating this progress, we still need additional garden tools and small animals such as goats and sheep. Their droppings and urine will help us produce more farmyard manure and organic inputs for our regenerative agriculture and permaculture activities.

Our saucepans are also old and leaking, so replacements are still needed for preparing the children’s meals. In addition, the two volunteer sewing facilitators continue faithfully teaching practical skills to the learners, and each facilitator needs an allowance of $90 USD.

Project Development Needs (USD)
• Garden tools — $200 USD
• 4 goats — $140 USD
• 4 sheep — $130 USD

Operational Needs (USD)
• 2 saucepans — $14 USD

Program Support Needs (USD)
• Allowances for 2 volunteer sewing facilitators — $180 USD

TOTAL ESTIMATED NEEDS: $664 USD

If you feel moved to support this work, please consider donating or sharing here:
👉 https://givebutter.com/gabirofarmproject

Thank you for standing with Christian Life Pre & Primary School. 🙏💛

🌍 Many hands make light work.

🌱 Follow the official APSN 501(c)(3) page for more updates:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584476080233&mibextid=ZbWKwL

23/07/2026

We are pleased to announce that our regenerative farming system is demonstrating significant and encouraging progress.
In a major step forward for our operations, we have successfully secured a solar panel, battery unit, and all related accessories—a generous donation from our valued partner school, Chew Stoke Church School in Bristol, England. We extend our sincere gratitude for their continued support and commitment to our shared vision.
This equipment arrives at an opportune moment. The iPads, also kindly provided by Chew Stoke Church School to facilitate our joint educational collaboration, can now be recharged conveniently and reliably on-site. This not only eliminates the logistical challenges and financial burden of external recharging costs but also ensures the security of these vital resources.
We look forward to building on this partnership and keeping our community informed of our ongoing progress.
With thanks!

22/07/2026

Today, our children had the absolute privilege of exploring Lake Mutanda—a breathtaking lava-dammed wonder nestled right on our doorstep! 🏞️🌋 They were utterly captivated by the vibrant tapestry of flora and fauna thriving along its emerald shores, their young eyes lighting up with every new discovery. 🌸🦋 And oh, the water—so joyful and impossibly gracious—gently lapped at the edges, reflecting the sky like a liquid mirror and creating a serene, magical backdrop for our adventure. 💧✨ This wasn't just a day out; it was a profound, heart-stirring lesson learned through the sheer power of observation, a beautiful reminder that nature’s most enduring teachings come not from books, but from quietly witnessing its wonders firsthand. 🧡🌍 A true gem of Uganda, and a memory we will treasure forever! 🙌🛶

17/07/2026

15/07/2026

🌱 Africa Permaculture Support Network (APSN) — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization — Weekly Update 🫶
🌍 Growing Resilient Communities Together

📍 Gabiro Benedict (Uganda)
🏢 Christian Life Pre & Primary School
📅 Tuesday, July 14, 2026

👉 Support this work here:
https://givebutter.com/gabirofarmproject

Hello dear friends and supporters 🙏💛,

Since my last update, we have continued working in the school garden, giving special attention to caring for our banana plantations. I am encouraged to share that our crops are looking healthy and free from pests and diseases, which is a great improvement and gives us hope for the months ahead.

We have also begun harvesting sorghum and maize, and we expect these harvests to support our school feeding program for approximately two weeks. This is a welcome blessing as we continue providing meals for the children while strengthening our regenerative farming system.

Alongside the gardening activities, about 56 learners are actively participating in practical skills training. This week they have been learning knitting, sewing, and basketry, helping them develop sustainable skills that they can use throughout their lives while complementing the practical agricultural education they receive at school.

Although we celebrate this progress, we continue facing important challenges. Our solar panel and battery have completely stopped working, making it difficult to recharge the iPads, phones, and other electronic devices that support teaching, learning, and communication. At present we must leave these gadgets with outside vendors for charging, which not only increases our operating costs but also places the equipment at risk of theft or damage while it is away from the school. For this reason, replacing the solar system is now our most urgent priority.

We also continue needing additional garden tools and small animals such as goats and sheep. Their droppings and urine are essential for producing the organic manure and liquid pesticides that support our regenerative agriculture and permaculture practices. In addition, our cooking saucepans are old and leaking, making meal preparation more difficult for the school feeding program.

Finally, we would like to support the two volunteer facilitators who faithfully teach sewing to our learners. Their dedication is helping equip the children with valuable vocational skills, and providing them with modest allowances will help sustain this important training program.

Project Development Needs (USD):
• Garden tools — $200 USD
• 4 goats — $140 USD
• 4 sheep — $130 USD

Operational Needs (USD):
• 2 saucepans — $14 USD
• 1 solar panel — $53 USD
• 1 battery — $40 USD

Project Coordination & Living Support (USD):
• Allowance for 2 volunteer sewing facilitators — $180 USD

TOTAL ESTIMATED NEEDS: $757 USD

👉 Support this work here:
https://givebutter.com/gabirofarmproject

Thank you for standing with Christian Life Pre & Primary School. 🙏💛

🌍 Many hands make light work.

🌱 If you would like to follow more updates and stay connected, you are welcome to join our APSN Facebook community:
👉 https://www.facebook.com/groups/2005409322985882/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT

13/07/2026

Our forests are the heart of our natural heritage—home to diverse wildlife that enchants every visitor. Yet rampant deforestation continues to strip these creatures of their habitats, forcing them into human spaces where neither they nor we feel at ease.
This is not the welcome we wish to offer. We envision a destination where animals roam freely in their natural glory, enriching the landscape and the traveller's experience alike.
We therefore call upon all partners and communities to embrace afforestation and put an end to large-scale deforestation. Every tree planted restores not just a habitat, but the very soul of our land.
Together, let us protect what makes us extraordinary—and return our wildlife to the wild, where they belong.