Mount Elgon Farmer-Led Agroforestry

A forest garden keeps farming and trees on the same land. Fruit trees, food crops and shade trees grow together around the home, so one plot gives food, shade and soil cover at the same time. From above, the tree cover runs from the gardens into the forest beyond, so the farms read

In a forest garden, each plant has a job. A fast-growing fruit tree starts producing food early, while the slower trees around it are still establishing. Its open canopy lets light reach the crops below, and its fallen leaves feed the soil. The result is a plot that provides food

Not every tree in these gardens is planted for food. Species like this one are chosen to fix nitrogen in the soil, feeding the crops planted alongside them without added fertilizer.

Coffee is one of the crops that makes these mixed plantings work financially for the farmers who tend them. Grown under the shade of taller trees, the plants stay productive season after season while the surrounding canopy protects soil and reduces water stress. It's a system built

A newly planted seedling, just a few months old, growing in cleared soil alongside dozens of others. Each one will eventually take its place in a mixed planting that combines fruit trees and vegetables on a single plot.

At this early stage, spacing and soil prep matter most, giving

These young trees were planted alongside maize on the same plot. The maize has already been harvested, its dry stalks now covering the ground, while the trees keep growing in between the rows.

This is the core idea behind a Forest Garden: a farmer doesn't lose a season of food

Fast-growing fruit trees are often the first to go in when a forest garden gets started.

While slower-growing timber and shade trees take their time establishing, fruit trees like guava or mango keep the farm productive in the meantime.

It's a practical approach — the land is

The trees don't tend themselves.

Behind every successful agroforestry plot is someone who knows the land, reads the seasons, and shows up every day.

Local knowledge and consistent care are what make these systems actually work.

Trees and crops don't compete here. They work together.
Papaya, vegetables, native trees — all growing on the same land, in the same season. Agroforestry isn't a compromise between food production and forest restoration. It's both, by design.

Trees and crops growing in the same plot — increasing productivity while improving soil structure and moisture retention.

In forest gardens, fruit trees play a central role. They provide food over time, create shade for crops below, and help structure the system around long-term use rather than single harvests.

Meet Adito and Mary, part of our Forest Gardens program in Eastern Uganda.
Their forest garden now supports nine people — providing food, income, and the means to keep their children in school.

These are some of the fruits produced in a forest garden—an example of how diverse tree species can provide regular harvests and valuable nutrition.

This farmer is part of the Forest Gardens project in Uganda. In this picture, he was guiding us through his own forest garden and showing us the fruits his trees now produce.

Our project in Uganda focuses on agroforestry—and this farmer knows it well.
Here he’s showing us the results of his work, harvesting the fruits of how the Forest Garden approach has helped restore his land and improve his yields.