The Kalangala District, an archipelago of 84 islands, was once defined by its dense secondary woodlands and the diverse life of the equatorial lake. This changed in 1998, when a large-scale commercial project introduced industrial palm oil plantations to the islands. What began as a venture to increase domestic oil production slowly altered the face of the land, replacing the varied canopy with a silent, uniform monoculture.
In the face of this transformation, Ngobi Joel turned to the schoolyard. Founded in 2019, his initiative works with children to establish nurseries where they grow seedlings of indigenous species, fruit trees, and medicinal plants. These are not merely gardens; they are living classrooms where the next generation learns to stabilize the soil and protect the local water cycle.
The work gained new momentum when the initiative joined the Global Landscapes Forum network as a formal chapter. This connection, as noted by coordinator Ana Yi Soto, places the small nurseries of Kalangala into a broader context, linking them with community-led efforts across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Madagascar. The visibility allows for an exchange of knowledge that is often lost when local efforts remain isolated.
Central to this restoration is the Mutuba tree. A cornerstone of regional agroforestry, its rough, papery bark can be harvested repeatedly for decades to produce traditional cloth, allowing the tree to remain standing as a guardian of the soil. By teaching children to value such species, Joel is ensuring that the islands’ history remains rooted in the ground, even as the world around them continues to change.