Starter basic income in Uganda

In this project, FairSpirit provides a starter basic income to women in Uganda in collaboration with Sawa World. Sawa World is a locally led Ugandan organisation that helps people living in poverty build sustainable livelihoods through practical, easy-to-learn and eco-friendly income-generating skills.

Sawa World’s Ujana Coffee Project focuses on young smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda. They have irregular income only at the time of the harvest. The additional income-generating skills help them diversify their income and start small businesses alongside coffee farming. Sawa World teaches thoses skills with training, posters and online learning video’s.

As part of this collaboration, FairSpirit will provide startup capital to 10 women participating in the Ujana Coffee Project. This support will enable them to turn their skills and ideas into viable micro-businesses, strengthen their financial independence and build more resilient livelihoods for themselves, their families and their communities.

Below is a short introduction to the participating women.

Kyosiga Jovia is an 18-year-old young woman from Kamuli District living with a physical disability (lameness), which has made it challenging for her to secure a regular income to meet her personal needs. Despite these challenges, she has shown resilience and determination to become self-reliant.

She started a small poultry farming activity with 15 birds as a home-based income-generating project. Through this initiative, she is beginning to build practical skills in poultry management while earning income to support her basic needs.

Jovia’s long-term vision is to expand her poultry enterprise into a larger, more sustainable farm with up to 500 birds. With basic income support and continued guidance, she aims to grow her business into a stable source of income that will improve her independence and overall quality of life.

Nagobi is a 23-year-old entrepreneur who combines poultry and coffee farming to create a sustainable and environmentally friendly farming system. She currently manages 30 poultry birds alongside one acre of coffee.

By utilizing poultry droppings as organic manure for her coffee plantation, Nagobi has successfully integrated her enterprises, reducing production costs while improving soil fertility and crop performance.

Nagobi is committed to expanding both enterprises and increasing her income. The basic income support will enable her to grow her poultry flock, which will in turn strengthen her coffee production through increased access to organic manure. This investment will improve productivity, increase household income, and support her long-term economic independence.

Wantoli Justine is a 25-year-old single mother of three children from Kamuli District who is currently facing significant challenges in providing for her family’s basic needs, including food, healthcare, and school fees. Despite these difficulties, she remains determined to improve her household’s livelihood through income-generating activities.

She is currently engaged in small-scale poultry farming, rearing 28 birds, alongside coffee farming with 200 coffee trees intercropped with bananas. She earns a modest income from the sale of eggs, which contributes to meeting her household needs. Through these enterprises, she has gained valuable practical experience in poultry management and coffee production while diversifying her income sources and strengthening her family’s livelihood.

With access to basic income support, Justine envisions expanding her poultry enterprise from 28 to 500 birds. This growth will enable her to increase egg production, improve her earnings, and build a sustainable business that can consistently support her children’s welfare and education.

Veronica Namulawa is a 32-year-old married mother of four and the Women’s Leader of the Bakuseka Majje Youth Coffee Farmers Group in Kamuli District. As a beneficiary of the Ujana Coffee Project, she has successfully ventured into both coffee and poultry farming as a pathway to improving her family’s livelihood.

As a result of applying the skills gained through the project, Veronica secured one acre of land and established a coffee plantation with 450 coffee trees, following the Good Agricultural Practices training she received under the project. She also operates a poultry enterprise that provides additional household income. Veronica’s long-term goal is to expand her coffee farm to 2,000 trees and strengthen her poultry business to create a sustainable source of income for her family.

The basic income support will enable her to purchase additional coffee seedlings, improve farm management, and invest further in her poultry business. This support will accelerate the growth of her farm and enhance her ability to provide education, healthcare, and food security for her children.

Betty is a 34-year-old married mother of four who supports her family through poultry and coffee farming. She currently keeps 40 local poultry birds and manages half an acre of coffee.

Her farming activities contribute significantly to household income and family welfare. Betty has demonstrated a strong commitment to growing her enterprises and has set an ambitious goal of expanding her poultry business from 40 birds to 300 laying hens. The basic income support will provide Betty with the capital needed to gradually increase her flock and strengthen her farming operations. The resulting growth in income will improve her family’s financial stability, support her children’s education, and enable her to invest further in her agricultural enterprises.

Maxesia Namukaya is a hardworking and determined entrepreneur, coffee farmer, and mother of five. She is married and resides in her community, where she actively engages in coffee farming as her primary source of livelihood. Currently, she manages a coffee garden with 100 coffee trees, which provides income for her family and contributes to meeting household needs.

In addition to farming, Maxesia operates a small coffee trading business where she purchases coffee from fellow farmers and resells it to larger buyers. This enterprise has enabled her to diversify her income sources while creating a market opportunity for other coffee farmers in her community. Through her involvement in both coffee production and trading, she has gained valuable experience in the coffee value chain and developed a strong understanding of the market.

Maxesia has a clear vision for the future. She plans to expand her coffee trading business and increase her coffee production by growing her coffee plantation from 100 to 1,000 coffee trees. With additional support and investment, she believes she can significantly increase her household income, improve the well-being of her family, and create employment opportunities within her community.

Norah Nakisozzi is a resilient single mother of four whose determination and
entrepreneurial spirit have transformed her family’s livelihood through African
handmade sandal production.

Using recycled tyres, Norah transforms them into handmade sandals and sells them while also offering shoe repair services within her community. Through careful reinvestment of her earnings, she has expanded her business and supported her children’s education. She also became a trainer for other people in her community, helping them learn income-generating activities and build their own livelihoods.

The basic income support will enable her to purchase additional production materials, increase output, and expand her small kiosk into a larger sandal-making enterprise. This growth will create a more stable source of income for her family while increasing her capacity to train and support others.

Maria Ngabula is a coffee farmer and Village Health Team (VHT) member who brings basic health services closer to people in her community of Bulamoi Village in Kamuli District. She views coffee farming as a long-term investment that can create lasting benefits for future generations.

Starting with only 50 coffee plants, Maria has steadily expanded her coffee enterprise and now manages one and a half acres of coffee. In addition, she operates a poultry business with 38 birds, providing an important supplementary source of income for her household.

Maria’s vision is to expand her coffee plantation to two acres and increase her poultry flock to 100 birds. The basic income support will allow her to invest in additional poultry stock and coffee production, helping her diversify her income sources, strengthen household resilience, and build long-term financial security for her family.

Ziyada Nakayima is a dedicated coffee farmer who has built her livelihood around agriculture. She currently manages a coffee garden of approximately one acre, where she grows coffee as her main source of income. Through her farming activities, she supports her household needs and contributes to the local coffee value chain in her community.

Ziyada is committed to improving and expanding her coffee production. She has
expressed a strong interest in increasing the size of her coffee garden by planting additional high-quality coffee trees, specifically the KR coffee variety, known for its improved yield and resilience. Her goal is to transition from small-scale production to a more productive and sustainable coffee enterprise.

With the right support in agronomic training, quality seedlings, and good farm
management practices, Ziyada aims to expand her coffee farm, increase productivity, and improve her income. Her long-term vision is to build a more stable and profitable coffee farming business that can sustain her family and create greater financial independence.

Florence Nakabirwa is a married mother of five and a beneficiary of the Ujana Coffee Project. Over the past two years, she has built a successful poultry enterprise and currently manages 200 birds. Florence practices integrated farming by linking her poultry and coffee enterprises. She utilizes coffee husks as poultry bedding and applies poultry droppings as organic
manure in her coffee plantation, creating an efficient and sustainable production system.

Her vision is to acquire a hatchery incubation machine to begin local chick production and reduce dependence on external suppliers. The basic income support will help Florence move closer to achieving this goal, enabling her to expand her poultry business, create an additional income stream, and strengthen the economic resilience of her family. Her enterprise has strong potential for growth and can serve as a model for other farmers in her community.

Project sponsors

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