Projects taking root across the Rwenzori.
From reforested hillsides to boreholes that shortened a five kilometre walk, every project below is a mission statement made practical, one village at a time.
Right Now in Kasese
Four programs currently underway across the district, each one led by the community it serves.
OngoingClimate Smart Agriculture
Promoting women and youth empowerment through climate smart agriculture for sustainable food security. Kisanga Women Group and Kihara Youth Farmers Association supported with two water pumps to enable them to sustainably produce vegetables and meet high market demands.
OngoingRiver Nyamwamba Restoration
Kickstart Foundation Uganda participated in monitoring a 10 km stretch of restored degraded hotspots along River Nyamwamba in Kasese District. The restoration involved planting bamboo and native tree species to stabilize soils, reduce flood risks, and protect surrounding communities.
OngoingWomen's Mushroom Enterprise Network
Growing individual training into a village-level cooperative, linking women-led mushroom farms to shared supply and buyers.
OngoingYouth Vocational Skills Academy
Hands-on training in carpentry, tailoring, and welding for out-of-school youth, pairing every apprentice with a working mentor.
Before & After Training
Crops Lost to Flooding
Flooding devastated Sarah Kabugho's crops and left her household without a reliable source of income.
A Thriving Mushroom Enterprise
Training in mushroom cultivation and spawn multiplication built sustainable income, food security, and economic independence.
From Crisis to Opportunity
Sarah Kabugho's story exemplifies the transformative power of community-led empowerment. When flooding devastated her crops, she participated in Kickstart Foundation's mushroom cultivation training.
Today, Sarah operates a thriving mushroom-growing enterprise that has improved her household income, enabled her to pay school fees, and strengthened food security. She now trains other young mothers in mushroom production, creating ripples of transformation across her community.
"Individual empowerment creates community transformation" — Sarah Kabugho
From Apprentice to Employer
Many young people in the region drop out of secondary school when their families can no longer cover the fees. Some spend years doing casual labour on other people's farms, unsure what comes next, until word spreads about a vocational academy taking on apprentices to learn sustainable stove making.
Apprentices spend months learning to design, build, and finish energy-efficient cookstoves under an experienced artisan, first preparing materials, then assembling simple models, then producing full stoves sold on order. Kickstart Foundation supplies each graduate with a starter tool kit at completion.
Within a year or two, many graduates go on to run their own small workshops, some behind their family's compound. They take on apprentices of their own, teaching the same craft the way it was taught to them, and fill orders from towns well beyond their own.
"We were taught for free, so we teach for free. That is how the trade stays alive here." — Stove Making Graduate
Ripple Effect
Help Us Plant the Next Project
Every borehole, seedling, and apprenticeship above started as an idea a community brought to us. Your support decides which one we can start next.
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