Refugee-Led Permaculture Hub Trains 500 in Uganda Settlement

Rolande Ansiima Casinga founded FOLONA (For the Love of Nature) in 2021 after arriving in Uganda's Nakivale Refugee Settlement at age 15, fleeing conflict in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. The settlement spans 184 square kilometers near the Tanzanian border and hosts tens of thousands of refugees from multiple countries. FOLONA officially registered as a community-based organization in 2022 with seven colleagues.

The organization operates a community farm serving as a living learning center where refugees practice polycultures, agroforestry, composting, and water-efficient irrigation. The farm brings together people from seven nationalities, fostering collaboration and social cohesion across language and cultural barriers. Over 12 Permaculture Design Certificate courses have trained more than 500 community members in regenerative practices.

Graduates apply techniques on their own plots, improving household food security while building transferable skills. Some participants become teachers themselves, extending the program through a multiplication model. Women's empowerment forms a central pillar through workshops in leadership, financial literacy, and sustainable livelihoods. The organization has distributed over 1,000 reusable sanitary pads and provides reproductive health education.

FOLONA addresses climate vulnerability through climate-smart agriculture, tree planting, water harvesting, and ecosystem restoration. These interventions aim to build environmental resilience amid unpredictable weather, droughts, and land degradation that threaten food production. The organization is now building a permanent permaculture community learning center to anchor training and demonstration infrastructure beyond individual courses.

Rolande presented FOLONA's work at the 15th International Permaculture Convergence in Taiwan in December 2024, sharing how refugees in Nakivale use permaculture to restore dignity and self-reliance. The organization's technology and innovation programs introduce digital skills and entrepreneurship training, while community events promote cultural exchange and environmental protection.

What distinguishes FOLONA from externally managed programs is refugee ownership of the entire process. Staff and volunteers come from the settlement itself, designing solutions that integrate permaculture principles with traditional Congolese agricultural knowledge. This approach incorporates cultural food preferences, social structures, and local ecological knowledge that outside experts might overlook.

Community trust develops more quickly when leaders share lived experience of displacement. Solutions persist because communities own them rather than depending on external organizations that eventually leave. FOLONA's integrated model combines practical agriculture, women's empowerment, environmental restoration, health education, and technology training to address settlement life holistically.

At 24, Rolande has built an organization touching over 500 lives across seven nationalities. The refugee-led model demonstrates that displaced communities can design their own regenerative systems when given resources and recognition rather than rescue.