Forest Gardens - Mount Elgon Region

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

From above, a forest garden doesn't look like a single crop repeating in straight rows. It looks like a patchwork: banana groves shading one corner, open plots of cleared soil in another, dirt paths cutting between them, and a home sitting right in the middle of it all.

That layout

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

Fruit grows well under shade — and in forest garden systems, that shade comes from deliberately planted trees.

Farmers integrate fruit and multipurpose trees into their existing cropland, creating a layered canopy that improves soil health, retains moisture, and provides additional

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.

From above, you can see how a single plot of land tells many stories at once. Rows of maize, patches of bare red soil being prepared, young banana plants, and the dense edge of forest — all coexisting on the same farm.

This is agroforestry at its most visible: not a monoculture,

Meet Jacob Chagi, our field officer in Uganda 🇺🇬, as he shares how the Forest Gardens – Mount Elgon Region project is changing lives. By integrating diverse trees with crops, more than 700 farmers are restoring their soil, strengthening their food systems, and building more resilient

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.

An aerial view of this forest garden in Uganda shows how smallholder farmers organize diversity on their land. Crops and trees grow together, shaped by practical choices rather than fixed patterns.

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.