Development Magazine

“Your voice to the World” Special Issue No. 02 December 2018

MALNUTRITION OPINION
• We are, because of what we ate! • Mindset Change - Food for Local Development
• Even those in the city can grow their own food TRUST
• Fortification as a possible alternative to the malnutrition problem in Uganda • Declining Trust in our community – how do we build it?
• A quick Guide to Good Nutrition GREEN ECONOMY
• Green currency - is it possible? How would it work?

“Publishing Development Stories and Challenges

from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.”
 CONTENTS
Editorial 01
We are, because of what we ate! 02
Even those in the city can grow their own food 03
Fortification as a possible alternative to the
malnutrition problem in Uganda 04
Mindset Change - Food for Local Development 07
Declining Trust in our community – how do we build it? 09
Green currency - is it possible? How would it work? 10
Fort-Portal Farmers’ Expo - Full Page Advertorial 12

2 My Village Development Magazine - “Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.”
EDITORIAL We wish you good reading and Good health as we
close 2018 and enter into 2019. Let’s all promote Good
and diversified nutrition in the new year of 2019.

T
his is the 2nd special issue of My Village
Development Magazine. We continue to focus The editorial team of my Village Development
on Food. The last issue we tried to tell the Magazine wishes all our readers a Merry Christmas
story of how big the malnutrition challenge is and a Food Secure 2019.
in Western Uganda and Particularly Kabarole District
of Tooro region. Editorial Team

In this 2nd special issue we have dedicated it BUSIINGE Christopher

to available solutions to the management of the MUSINGUZI Francis
malnutrition problem in Western Uganda, and Uganda
in particular. In the last issue, we started off by sharing
a solution by CECO-Uganda, an innovation of Food
Circles, a very exciting idea and scientific approach
that will require many partners tacking in.

As promised in the last issue, we do share some of the

solutions and suggestions to address malnutrition in
Uganda. We start by sharing a story about how millet in
Mwenge sub-region of Tooro is said to have produced
scientists and Professors. We compare this fact of
eating millet with the Teso region in Eastern Uganda
where malnutrition levels are at the lowest compared
to other regions of Uganda.

The food and Nutrition Team at CECO-Uganda has

also shared an idea of how people in urban areas can
start growing food of their own using limited spaces. BUSIINGE Christopher
They argue that if this is possible in the developed
countries, how about in Uganda where there is still
reasonable space? They have also shared an idea of
fortification to improve on the micronutrients available
in foods like maize/Posho but a lot needs to be done.
Read on for details.

We have also shared a quick guide to good nutrition

adapted from a FANTA 2015 Flip chart. We believe that
its good information for all stakeholders in the battle
to tackle malnutrition to have this information and
disseminate it widely.

In the opinion section of this issue, the CECO-Uganda

CEO, shares his reflections of the challenges in
community development. He shares his life experience
on the wonders of mindset change, but also the
challenge of growing mistrust among the community
about development workers. He also shares and
invites you to a new normal, that is; a wild imagination MUSINGUZI Francis
for a global Green Currency for a new Global Green
Economy.

“Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.” - My Village Development Magazine 1
We are, because of what we ate!
By Our Reporter in Fort-Portal
There is a common belief in Tooro that Mwenge has in
the recent past produced the most educated people in
Tooro. That, there are more engineers and Professors
from Mwenge than other parts of Tooro have been able
to produce. However, this might be in the past than is
the case today. Why? The answer lies in the food the
people of Mwenge used to eat 5 decades ago.
Historical facts show that about 5 decades ago,
Mwenge produced a lot of millet and milk. Today
Mwenge is instead producing a lot of maize and Tea.
The cows are no more. The people of Mwenge today
no longer enjoy the millet and milk like their seniors did.
One senior politician who was speaking at one of the
food discussion meetings in Fort-Portal told us that one
time she visited Katoosa primary school in Kyenjojo
and while addressing pupils on the parade, she was
amazed that almost the children on the parade had
the same measure of height. She couldn’t believe her
eyes knowing that, people from Mwenge were known
to be tall but here were school children who showed no
signs of growing tall. This is a clear illustration of what
the right or wrong food can do to the person’s life. It’s
obviously true that children in Mwenge today are fed
more on maize than their grandparents were fed. Their
grandparents ate millet and fed on milk. Today, these
two foods are nearly absent in many Mwenge and
Tooro region homes.
is still predominant in the households. It is also eaten
with lots of vegetables as well. It has also been said
that, this region produces more science students in
the country, a fact that could be attributed to the food
that they ate.
However today, because of poverty and reduced
household labor in Tooro, millet is less served to
children but rather refined maize flour which is not
nutritious. This problem is further compounded by
the fact that many families no longer own cows and
therefore don’t have milk for the family. The solution
in reversing the malnutrition trends in many homes in
the region would be to make available millet or millet
porridge to children, own a cow or milking goat, and
a kitchen garden to provide the family with nutritious
vegetables. Added to the nutrients should be iodine
which is easy to get from iodised salt. The absence
of Iodine is responsible for loss of IQ and mental
retardation.
Otherwise, if the situation does not radically change,
this region will not produce scientists and professors
like Mwenge did 5 decades ago.

The food values of millet are well known- that is Iron.

In milk there is calcium which is good for born growth.
In Mwenge, when millet was not eaten with Meat or
Firinda (beans- a legume and a good source of Iron), Above: Key missing Nutrients, majorly Iron and Vitamin A that are important
for Brain and Immune system development.
it was eaten with vegatables like eteke, dodo and
enyamusiri. These vegetables are a good source for
Vitamin A. Apart from dodo (amaranthus), the other
traditional vegetables like eteke and enyamusiri have
been replaced with western vegetables like cabbages,
sukuma wiki and lettuce which cannot be enjoyed with
millet.

Both millet and the vegetables provide minerals like Iron

which is responsible for cognitive development, and
Vitamin A got from vegetables is good for boasting the
immune system and prevention of diseases. Indeed,
Millet and such food diversity is increasingly diminishing in Tooro house-
recent research has shown that, Teso region in Eastern
holds. A traditional meal like this in Tooro was always composed of not less
Uganda has low malnutrition levels of 22% compared than 5 food types and Millet was always a must have. Such a meal has been
with other regions of Uganda. In Teso region, millet replaced with Maize/posho, rice and Chapati.
Photo by: BUSIINGE Christopher

2 My Village Development Magazine - “Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.”
Chapatti, Rice and Chips are now replacing the Tooro tradition meal of Millet bread and vegetables. Photo by: BUSIINGE Christopher
Even those in the city can grow
their own food
Contributed by: CECO-Uganda Food and
Nutrition Team
As the towns in Uganda continue growing, the
demand for food will also increase. This will be so,
because of the increasing number of the urban poor
and the growing urban population. The Good news is
that research shows most food from the rural areas
finds itself in urban areas and the urban population
has been found to be eating better than the farmers
in the rural areas. However, changes in climate and
productivity of land will most likely push up the prices
for food and therefore making it unaffordable for both
the well-to-do and the urban poor. The solution for this
challenge lay in urban dwellers in Towns such as Fort-
Portal to adapt urban farming practices. This, the urban
dwellers can do by utilizing the limited space that they
In the developed countries, people are starting to grow food on roof tops in
a bid to improve the urban food systems. In Uganda we can do better than
this.
“Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.” -
have to grow food of their own to supplement on the
food that they are already buying. Due to lack of space
in the developed countries, people are starting to grow
food on roof tops to supplement their food systems.
In Uganda we are very lucky that we still have some
spaces around us that can be utilized to grow foods
like vegetables. Some families, with sizeable space
can also grow a few Matooke around them. These
urban gardens can easily benefit from household
garbage that is often difficult to dispose off. Within
no time, a household will be enjoying good and fresh
vegetables grown on verandas using plastic bags, car
tyres and old tree stamps. The interesting thing is that
technology for urban farming is equally growing and
in a very small space an entire meal for the family can
be gotten without necessarily going to the market to
buy food.
No doubt that urban farming will eventually contribute
to a sustainable urban food system where the residents
can have a diversified meal without necessarily
spending a lot of money on it. In away, both the
wealthy and the urban poor should be in position to
eat diversified meals and be healthy to work and grow
their cities.
Urban farming is something that local authorities
and leaders must work for by putting in place food
policies for the urban food system. Such a food policy
should support a local culture on food and protect the
environment while it increases resilience of the urban
dweller to shocks in the food system.
My Village Development Magazine 3
Fortification as a possible
alternative to the malnutrition
problem in Uganda
Contributed by: CECO-Uganda Food and
Nutrition Team
Posho has increasingly become a staple food for
many households in Uganda, although with less value
added. Walking in the evening of a regular work day on
Magambo Street of Fort-Portal town, one will see many
people shopping for maize flour. Such maize flour will
be made into Posho or porridge that is often served
to children early morning before they go to school.
Maize has at a very fast rate replaced millet in many
households of Western Uganda.
Unfortunately most of the Posho eaten by Ugandans
is grade 1 type (white in color), is overly refined and
has less nutrient value. Food fortification is a relatively
new idea in the Uganda food system but could go a
long way in addressing the malnutrition challenges the
country is facing today. Currently, there is no policy or
law by government of Uganda on fortification except for
the 2005 guidelines on fortification. A commendable
step however taken by government is the introduction
of the Orange flesh potatoes- that has been fortified
with Vitamin A. The potato is yet to be available in
many of the Ugandan households despite more than
7 years of its promotion. No doubt Uganda needs a
law and policy framework on fortification just like it
has done with the bio- technology and Bio-safety bill.
Countries like South Africa have already taken a step
and put in place a national policy on fortification and
have also increased their vigilance in the monitoring
the implementation the policy.
In South Africa, before food is put on the shelf, it must
be checked for its nutritional values and certified. There
is a lot of vigilance by health inspectors to ensure that
no foodstuffs with less nutrient value are sold to the
unsuspecting public. The Uganda government must
equally do the same in orde to curb the malnutrition
challenge in the country.

A milk shake made in South Africa taking advantage of the National fortification Policy. Such milk Shakes are starting to be produced in Uganda and are available
in Fort-Portal and are good for school going children. However, their price remains unfriendly for rural poor.

4 My Village Development Magazine - “Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.”
A quick Guide to Good Nutrition, Adapted from the FANTA Community
Mobilisation on Food and Nutrition security flip chart, 2015.
Contributed by: CECO-Uganda Comms Team

VARIETY OF FOODS FOR • People living with HIV need to pay special
HOUSEHOLD NUTRITION attention to their nutrition because eating a
• Household needs to eat a variety of foods variety of nutritious foods delays progression of
from both crop and animal sources on a regular HIV into AIDS while poor feeding quickens this
basis for satisfaction, energy, growth, and to process.
stay healthy. • Ensure the elderly don’t skip meals. They can
• Animal source foods may include chicken, also be supported to eat if necessary.
goat, beef, liver, eggs, milk, fish (including • Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers
mukene and nkejje), edible insects, and edible need to eat at least an extra meal each day
rats. because of increased demand for food by their
• Crop-based foods may include staple foods bodies.
like millet bread, matooke, and sorghum;
starchy foods like potato, pumpkin, posho, FEEDING YOUNG CHILDREN
cassava, and rice; beans and lentils; vegetables
of various colours like carrots, nakati, dodo,
and pumpkin leaves; and fruits such as mango,
pawpaw, avocado, sweet banana, guava, and
pineapple.
• Some foods are produced by the household
while others can be accessed through the
market or community social support systems.
• In a household some people may need special
attention, including children, pregnant and
breastfeeding women, the sick, and the elderly.
• Ensure the sick don’t skip their meals because Before preparing food or feeding a child of any age,
their bodies have increased demand for food. first wash your hands with soap.
They can be supported to eat if necessary.

“Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.” - My Village Development Magazine 5
Infants birth to 6 months
• Starting from birth, it’s important for infants
0–6 months of age to be fed on breast milk only
because it contains all that they need to grow
and develop, and protects them from illness
• Be sure to give the baby the first milk
(colostrum)—it protects from illness
• Do not give anything else, even water—it can
make the baby sick
• Expressed breast milk should be used if the
mother is going to be away from the baby
Infants 6 to 8 months
• Starting at 6 months, children should begin
eating food in addition to breast milk
• They need 2 to 3 meals each day, and can be
given 1 to 2 snacks as needed
• Start with porridges and mashed foods that
a baby can chew and increase the thickness
and amount of food over time. It should be thick
enough to stay on a spoon and soft enough for
a baby to chew
• Increase the amount over time
• Feed the baby directly
Infants 9 months to 1 year
• Continue breastfeeding
• Children should eat 3 to 4 meals a day, plus
any snacks
• Thicker porridges, mashed foods, and finger
foods are good for this age group
• Give them small amounts of many different
foods—foods liked eggs, vegetables, oils, milk,
and fruit can be mixed into porridge or mashed
• Increase the amount and thickness over time
6 My Village Development Magazine - “Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.”
Infants 1 to 2 years
• Continue breastfeeding
• Children should eat 3 to 4 meals a day, plus
any snacks
• Children this age can start feeding themselves
with help and encouragement from adults
• They can gradually begin eating the same
foods as the family. It should be chopped small
or mashed as needed
• Give them small amounts of many different
foods—foods liked eggs, vegetables, oils, milk,
and fruit can be mixed into porridge or mashed
• Increase the amount and thickness over time
HOW TO TELL IF A CHILD IS
MALNOURISHED
When should referral be considered? Sometimes
it is possible to tell that a child is malnourished. If a
child has one or more of the following, they should be
referred to the village health team.
• Change of colour of the skin and hair
• Pale, dark red or purple colour of gums
• Loss of appetite, diarrhoea, or frequent watery
stools
• Shortness of breath while performing normal
activity
• Easily irritable and withdrawn
•Weight loss, thin arms and legs, or swolllen
abdomens
• Appearing too thin
• Appears shorter than children of the same age
• Swelling of both feet, and/or arms, face, and
whole body.
Opinion
Mindset Change - Food for Local
Development
By: BUSIINGE Christopher
My first encounter of the belief/philosophy that
mindset change will spur development was with
government officials under the NAADS Programme. A
friend of mine, now working at the NAADS secretariat
believed that very little development can occur
unless those being targeted change their mindset to
achieve development. How would this happen? She
suggested a number of talks from mindset speakers
during farmers meetings and activities. I was not
wholly convinced that this would really change the
lives of the poor positively. I was later exposed and
immersed with the philosophy under the UNDP/
Korean supported Inclusive and Sustainable New
Communities Project (ISNC) under the ministry of
Local government.
The concept of Mindset change under the ISNC project
seemed more structured than it is under the NAADS
project. It’s more of an adhoc activity under NAADS
than it is under the ISNC project. Having participated
in the documentation of the ISNC project, one of the
recommendations we made was that, because of
the impact the project was having on its intended
beneficiaries, it should become a norm for development
programming across ministries and government
departments. However, this recommendation could
have landed on deaf ears since government operations
have been projecterised and too short lived. Not much
different from activities of NGOs. They all come up with
very good interventions, but too short lived and are not
sustainable. Partly because leadership at the highest
level is too busy doing too many things and having
little time to inculcate a philosophy across the nation.
Despite those challenges, the ISNC mindset approach is
something good and generally government and NGOs
can learn something spread it across development
interventions in every corner of Uganda. Anchored on
the Korean development model of Saemaul Udong
and a Ugandan tradition of Bulungi Bwansi, mindset
change seems to have attained incremental results
among households in Kabarole/Bunyangabu, Luuka
and Maracha district in West Nile. In Mundru parish
in Maracha, Buwologoma in Luuka and in Kyatwa and
Kaina in Bunyangabu district, the model sparked off
the intuition for participating households to succeed.
“Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.” -
Here, the model re-incarnated the spirit of cooperation,
diligence and self-help among community members.
The assumption under this mindset philosophy is
that, change starts in the mind of the individual and
accompanied with implementation of the thoughts and
plans by the individual of the change they want to see.
It also seems to ask the question of how prepared is the
individual, what tools will they need to move forward?
How will they get the necessary tools and assistance?
How much resources will be needed? At what intervals
should these resources be available? Who will avail
what kind of resources and at what time?
There is also the acknowledgement that there is a lot of
input that needs to come from the individual than what
will come from the outside. So, it asks the question
of what shall I contribute to this development? Thus,
outside assistance is only supplementary and should
be looked at as a partnership from government, and
the private sector.
This kind of thinking is what transformed the Republic
of South Korea to be what it is today. In the 1970s,
South Korea was hit by economic devastation that
affected the country’s economy and left it with very
little money to spend. It was incumbent upon the South
Korean leadership at the time to mobilize people to
participate in rebuilding their country. Today, South
Korea is one of the developed countries in the world
and is currently providing development aid to Uganda.
The ISNC activities, paid particular attention to the
aspect of the Mindset change. The project spent
a reasonable amount of time-not less than a year,
mobilizing the mind of the local population to
appreciate the development challenge in their midst
and as individuals and groups work hard to develop
their homes and local communities.
One of the most striking and unforgettable change I
experienced is where Women in Mundru Sub County of
Maracha district decided to take the bull by the horns.
They acknowledged the challenge of poor education
in the area and decided to work with the sub county
leadership to build a technical school in the area.
They agreed that, they will provide the bricks and the
non-technical labor on site and the local government
provides the land and some of the needed funding.
The last time I visited the project, the building had
reached ring beam level and the women were seen
busy providing their labor at the construction site.
Today, the building is completed and in use.
The story of Mundru however, started with a protracted
My Village Development Magazine 7
process for mindset change, and later into action in Maracha, one could see writings on the walls and
to build a technical school. What is unique though shops indicating a message of Mindset change. One
is that, in Mundru, the women moved faster than of the most prominent messages observed during my
the men in taking action. Given the current state of immersion was written on doors of a shop operated
development in the country, it is likely that in different by a youth stating “don’t eat to eat but eat to
communities, different groups of people might take up work”.
action depending on the local context they are in. What
was also noticeable in Mundru is that, the youth have
also taken up the message of mindset change more
seriously.
Walking around trading centers of Mundru Sub County

Community members participate in road maintenance.

I now believe that, if and only if, mindset change is
combined with the traditional spirit of Bulungi Bwansi
and total government commitment to eradicate poverty
without being compromised by corruption, many
communities in Uganda will develop themselves much
faster. The challenge today, is that communities remain
withdrawn from local development, and only wishing
for government to come in and help (Gavumenti
etuyambe). On the one hand, government’s
commitment to eradicating poverty is shrouded in
endemic corruption- that is the little money available
from the central government is normally “eaten” or
grabbed by “hyena” technocrats.
The later is compounding less community participation
in local development and something must be done to
re-awaken the community’s motivation to work.

8 My Village Development Magazine - “Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.”
A woman from Mundru Women’s Group in Maracha District participating in the construction of the Community Technical Institute. This women’s group on their
own made more than 50,000 bricks for the construction of the Technical School.

Declining Trust in our community The declining trust is experienced in both the elite and
– how do we build it? the non elites. Unfortunately, this lack of trust is starting
to cost the communities negatively. In some villages,
it has fueled conflict and turned bloody. We look at
By: BUSIINGE Christopher
each one coming to our villages as an enemy and
someone looking for something for themselves. The
For the last 15 years, I have been working as a
likely end result is collateral damage and frustration for
development worker in the Greater Rwenzori region.
those who mean and work for the common good of
My earlier years of community work were exciting and
the community.
a lot smoother and communities responded well. May
be, the development messiahs then meant what they
It appears that today, the development messiahs are
came to do and they did it for the common good of
working more for themselves and investing little in
the community. Today it is different. It is a rough ride.
the communities they claim to be working for. These
There are more animosities than there were in early
development messiahs have also accumulated a lot of
2000s.
wealth compared to those they claim they are helping.
How do they accumulate the wealth? Most of the
Over time, I have increasingly witnessed a declining
wealth is accumulated by taking back what was meant
level of trust among community members of the
to be for the poor through kickbacks. The communities
so called development messiahs like NGOs and
have watched this happen for a long time and they are
Government projects. Why is it so? This is a question I
tired of the games.
have been pondering upon for a long time and looking
for answers. By and large, communities often fill they
Today, any development initiative started by an
are being used by the development messiahs to full fill
individual is questioned by the community. In the first
their own private/individual missions.
place, communities no longer believe that an individual

“Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.” - My Village Development Magazine 9
can volunteer themselves to solve a problem without
looking for something in return. I have recently been
asked questions, what I expect to gain from projects
I have initiated. There is less belief that any project
started is in favor of the community but the initiator.
The result is that there have been too many promising
development interventions that communities are
refusing to participate in for fear of being hoodwinked.
Generally speaking, there have been too many
unfulfilled promises by various actors, namely, political,
cultural, NGOs and Government;
the orphaned). Once the institution fails on their part
to protect their subjects/people and leave them to the
“hyenas”, then the people cannot have trust in that
institution.
Thus, the key to building trust in the community will be
for the individuals, NGO institutions and Government
to work for the common good of the people and less
for selfish gains. This will require rebranding and
creating new formations that emerge with pro-people
interventions.

Communities believe that behind every development Green currency - is it possible?

intervention, there is a political mission for the person How would it work?
leading it. Sometimes, incumbent politicians and
individuals with political objectives will chose to fight
Author: BUSIINGE Christopher
a good intervention simply because they think and
believe that the project will politically work against their
Early morning of November 28, 2018, our 3 years old
political mission.
son, Bahenkiro Bbala was holding a 2000 Uganda
shillings Note folded in his tinny hands and jumping in
In other cases, many political promises have not been
our bed. I was not fully awake then but I had him shout
fulfilled, and the people have lost trust in almost every
in my ears, saying Green Money…..Green Money! He
body.
eventually woke me up because he was now jumping
on my back while he shouted Green Money….Green
There have also been too many cultural conflicts
Money! I guess he was mixing color blue of the 2000
in the region. In Kasese for example, development
Uganda shillings Note for the Green color he has been
interventions led by Batooro will be viewed as projects
learning about in Kindergarten.
that seek to extend the powers and colonialism by
the Batooro over the Bakoozo. There are many well
I’m not an economist and the subject has always
designed and good intentioned projects that have
given me goose pimples. But our son’s excitement
not been well implemented in Kasese because the
about a Green Currency Note got me thinking about
Bakoozo look at the projects as Batooro colonial
the possibility for Green Currency in the world. It gave
projects.
me the idea that Green Currency may be possible
just like Mobile Money and now crypto currency are
In Tooro for example, the Batooro harbor development
today. I thought Green Currency may as well become
expectations from the Tooro Kingdom. Some sections
the revolutionary solution to global environmental
of society see it as none performing and thus have
challenges in our time and future generations. I even
less trust in the Kingdom activities. The end result is
got imagination of how it would look like, a Green Note
suspicion by the Subjects of the Kingdom projects and
and a Green Coin both in digital and cash forms.
the kingdom of projects by its subjects. The kingdom
It might as well be digitised just like Mobile Money and
doesn’t want to be outshined by the subjects and yet
Crypto currency!
the subjects want to self-help themselves.

Who would issue the Green notes and coins? I see

The development expectation the Batooro have
governments, individual business men and women
about their Kingdom is the same that many people
issuing Green currency points following globally or
have about government. When government does not
locally accepted standard/criteria. The standard must
perform well on its plans, the communities don’t trust
be globally known, accepted and can be challenged by
them that much.
the individual in the courts of law. It’s an open market
and the individual in the world must retain a certain
Both government and the Tooro cultural institution
level of control of where they can sell their Green
examples could best be illustrated by a phrase from the
currency points depending on the offers available by
Tooro Kingdom anthem, “mukumanfuuzi” (protector of

10 My Village Development Magazine - “Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.”
those interested in buying the Green currency points
earned by the individual.
Green will be the new Gold. People all over the world
will have a rare chance to “dig” for the Green Gold
and earn themselves Green currency points. Digging
for Green currency points means doing good for the
environment no matter the color of that individual or
institution in the world. The basic thing will be tree
planting and protection of the environment. Each one
of us has the opportunity to be wealthy through the
“digging” and the accumulation of Green Currency
Points. This will be so because it’s the noble and
valuable thing to do by any one.
Meeting basic needs will be dependent on how hard
one worked to preserve the environment. Being poor
will now be evaluated based on what an individual or
country did/owned to protect the environment. The
individual or country will no doubt have low Green
Currency points because they didn’t work had to
protect the environment. This situation is not permanent
though. One can work for Green currency points and
a country could get a donation from Green wealthy
individuals and or Green wealthy Countries to improve
their Green economic status and thus jump out of the
Green Poor status to a Green Wealthy status.
Those who want to trade in Green currency will work
and earn Green currency points from those who have
earned them already. Eventually, the world will be
trading in Green currency. Green wealth can only be
accumulated by those who have worked hard to take
care of the environment.
Green currency will supersede other currencies like the
dollar, the pound and the Yuan.
The value of the Green currency will have to be based
on the following 1) people all over the world will have
to dig for Green points by working for the environment
each day of their lives. 2) Purchase of products that
meet the Green criteria, and 3) initially and in the long
term, the exchange of the Green currency is for people
who care and work for a greener world. This is a Green
Movement currency and thus a currency for the World
Green economy. It will resent all other economic
activities and currencies that don’t meet the Green
criteria/standard. We will then see the emergency of
Green banks all over the world that can borrow and
lend Green currency points to those who want to trade
in the Green economy.
“Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.” -
Where will the initial Green Currency reserves come
from? The answer is simple, from Green stocks
anywhere in the world. Green stocks can be evaluated
based on the acreage of forests (high points), emissions
of Green House Gases (low point), environmental
sensitivity of a family/household, individual or country
in its aspiration for development (high points),
Green policies and how they are implemented (high/
low points), practice and innovations of greener
technologies etc (High/low points). An individual or
nation with more Green environmental stocks will be
awarded Green currency points based on a Green
Currency Measurement unit that is globally accepted.
The Green currency Measurement Unit will require
that nations participate in its development and later
promulgated at the United Nations. This will no doubt
be a protracted process requiring commitment from
member nations of the UN.
The Green currency measurement unit will be the new
protocol for the Green economy and countries are free
to sign or not to sign. Those who sign can start the
promotion and implementation of the Green currency.
However, the implementation doesn’t have to wait for
the UN approval but based on the moral principle for
a greener world.
Even without waiting for a global system approval
for the Green currency, Green currency points can
be awarded by environmental bodies to individuals,
organisations and institutions that are doing good to
the environment. Those who award Green Currency
point must have earned them from their environmental
stocks, including intellectual stock.
My Village Development Magazine 11
12 My Village Development Magazine - “Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.”
 CECO-Uganda is the publisher of My Village Development
Magazine a development Organisation based in Fort-Portal. Our
development interest is in the following areas; Conservation, Energy
and Renewables, Conflict Management, Poverty Alleviation, Forest
Resources, Climate Change, Waste Management and Pollution, Food
and Nutrition, Green skills development, Research and Education.

Please drop us an email if you have any stories that you would like to
share with us. You never know your story could be featured in the next
issues of My Village Development Magazine. Our subsequent issues
will continue to pay attention to Food and Nutrition and we welcome
your input in the form of articles.

We are particularly looking for articles with solutions to bring down the
malnutrition challenge in Western Uganda and other parts of Uganda.

“Publishing Development Stories and Challenges from Across Uganda, Africa and the World.” - My Village Development Magazine 13
For Comments about the Stories and Articles Published in this Magazine, Please Contact the Editor;
Email: ceco.dsuganda@gmail.com or myvillagedevt@gmail.com
Tel: +256 772-452 945/ 772-610928 or Visit Our Office: Rwengoma Hill, Fort-Portal.
Send us a letter to: P. O. Box 408, Fort-Portal, Uganda.