The Northern Uganda Rural Agro-Tech. Project

The Northern Uganda Rural Agro-Technology Project came out of a vision that Abi developed after spending seven months living and studying in Uganda. Although Abi spent most of her adult life studying agriculture primarily in the US, she had an opportunity through Berea College to study agriculture and micro-economics abroad in Uganda.

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It is in Uganda in 2012, when she met Dr. Tonny Kidega. Dr. Kidega was currently the lead on a dairy project with Heifer International.  The dairy project was an initiative to help bring more resources to the Ugandan people that would ultimately help Northern Ugandan farmers produce a quality milk product that would not only help improve nutrition but could also be a way for farmers to develop small businesses.

Abi had been exploring resources that were out there. Resources that included designs and application for affordable machines and tools that could improve the agricultural landscape for Northern Uganda. After sharing their ideas, they both decided that a rural agro-technology project was a tangible and effective project that could potentially address some of the issues, and now that Dr. Kidega had the land and access to farmers, they wanted to push the project forward.



In the weeks before Abi's accident, Abi was developing ideas, acquiring designs, and sharing with her friends and family her desire to help consult with projects that involving farming technologies.



It was only by coincidence, that Abi's friends and family met Dr. Kidega through one of his emails to Abi. After learning more about the project, and the relationship that Dr. Kidega and Abi had, her friends and family decided to try to support this project. It is out of this support that we decided that we wanted to continue working on Abi's vision while she is recovery as well as be part of a phenomenal project of both Dr. Kidega and Abi.

When developing the project with Heifer International, Dr. Kidega was able to acquire nearly 30 acres of land and develop a place where the farmers of Northern Uganda could come and learn more about farming techniques and become part of the Gulu Uganda Country Dairy Project. When Abi went to meet with Dr. Kidega and learn more about the project, Abi and Dr. Kidega started to discuss other projects that  would focus on improving farming technology by fabricating simple machines specifically for the needs of the farmers in Northern Uganda.