Local Innovation in Regenerative Agriculture: Peace’s Story at St. Theresa’s School
Opportunity International’s Agriculture and Education Finance teams recently launched a project called “Thriving Rural Communities in Uganda,” in partnership with St. Theresa’s Day and Boarding Primary School in Uganda. When the project officially started, the community welcomed the idea of setting up a regenerative agriculture demonstration garden – but the lasting impact and creativity that would come from this project couldn’t even be imagined.
Teachers, parents, and learners all joined in, choosing crops they hoped would both nourish the children and showcase new farming techniques. But it was the creativity of Peace, a Farmer Support Agent (FSA) selected from the school, that turned this garden into a living example of innovation.
Peace had just completed trainings on Regenerative Agriculture Farming Practices, Group Dynamics, and Digital Tools. But upon returning home, she faced a challenge: The raised garden beds on the school slope were eroding during rains, while pests threatened the vegetables. Rather than waiting for outside solutions, Peace drew from her own knowledge. She suggested planting chives along the ridges to both hold the soil and repel pests. The very next day, she brought plantlets from her home. Today, the chives flourish, protecting the garden naturally while reducing costs for the school.
Together with fellow FSA Jennifer, Peace also introduced chili into the garden, not only as food but as a key ingredient for bio-pesticides. By mixing chili peppers with pawpaw leaves, they created a simple, affordable solution to protect crops without relying on chemicals. When the chili yields, the fruits will be ground and mixed with pawpaw leaf to make a potent, eco-friendly biopesticide. This knowledge-sharing among FSAs has equipped the school to grow resilient harvests of vegetables like carrots, onions, and collard greens.
The St. Theresa demo garden now functions as more than a farm – it is a classroom, a training center, and a place where innovation thrives. Peace has taken the trainings she received and expanded them into real-world solutions for her school and farm, and, in doing so, has multiplied the impact that she can have.
Parents, students, and teachers see firsthand how local creativity, empowered by training, can transform agriculture. Peace’s leadership proves that when farmers adapt global principles to local realities, they unlock solutions that strengthen entire communities.
