Uganda: Biringo Women Development Association

Biringo Women Development Association is a collective of Indigenous women first organized in 1988 and formalized in 2014.  BIWODA is situated within the Buramba parish Rubaya Sub County, one of the 25 sub counties that make up Kabale District in Uganda. Rubaya Sub County is one of the poorest sub counties in the district and is lacking social services and development in general. Women in Biringo Village, like many other women in Uganda, are the main income earners of their families yet are the most disadvantaged class of the population with regard to income generation. Kabale district features subsistence farming  in which women’s main occupation is planting crops for home consumption. Agriculture is favorable in Kabale district with rains throughout the year. Women are the most marginalized class of the population in Uganda and much of Africa do to lack of incomes. They face several injustices from husbands, families and other members of the community as they don’t own property, including land, although it should be their right.

Women in Biringo depend on subsistence farming as their main occupation. What they produce is consumed locally because they do not use modern methods of farming such as use of manure to increase their yields. This results in lack of household incomes for paying medical bills and school fees for their children. Moreover, these women are bread earners for their families. In efforts to improve on their livelihoods and fight poverty, women are seeking to practice sustainable mixed commercial farming by raising goats, rabbits and poultry and using animal/poultry  manure in their gardens. Using manure can raise crop yields to enable them to have enough food for themselves and surplus to sell for income.

In addition to improved agriculture, BIRINGO is prioritizing the following women-organized initiatives

• Micro-saving and economic capacity building among women's groups
• Creation of safe and accessible water and sanitation
• Reproductive health and menstrual hygiene
• Adult education and literacy 

Students are invited to engage with BIWODA  to support individual projects including but not limited to:

• research and share models and best practices related to target initiatives
• help to develop website and social media presence
• develop communications materials to formalize model and goals
• Identify and pursue funding opportunities
• other ideas to be explored

Biringo Women Development Association