Muwanga Gonzaga

My name is Muwanga Gonzaga. I live with my wife and eight children – four girls and four boys. Two are in college, two are in secondary school and four are in primary school. We grow coffee and seasonal crops on our farm in Balimanyankya village in Kisekka Sub County. I joined Rooted Wisdom in 2019 after learning about the organization through a local farming cooperative.

I have been a farmer since childhood, but the only information that I had ever been exposed to was the knowledge that had been passed down to me by my family.

Because of our low income, I have always struggled to earn enough money to look after my family, pay school fees for my children and cover medical expenses. Before this, I had faced many challenges in farming as my primary income-generating source. For example, when I was planting my first coffee plantation I over-spaced my crops, which led to drought affecting my coffee trees. My goal is to grow my daily income, which will help me increase my yearly savings. Since 2019, I have hired two people to help me run my projects, and I pay them each day they come to work. I also enjoy working together as a family as I teach my children everything that I have learned.