Alwana Natural Farm: agroecology within a tropical ecosystem

Alwana Natural Farm, Kituuza, Mukono District, Uganda

The name of my family farm comes from Wali Alwana, my great-grandfather, who was a renowned coffee and banana farmer in the early 1900s. His name is associated with the struggle to overcome difficult and challenging situations such as hunger, poverty, and conflict. It holds deep meaning for us as a family because farming—and agriculture in general—is what we primarily rely on to reach our goals. We chose to follow the principles of agroecology and Slow Food to address climate challenges, food insecurity, and, above all, the soil degradation common in the area where the farm is located. The name serves as a reminder never to let our guard down when facing difficult situations.

I observe my surroundings—a tropical environment where lush, abundant vegetation characterizes the landscape—and try to understand how to cultivate the resources nature has provided in the tropical belt of the sub-Saharan African ecosystem to produce the harvest that supports me and my family.

I choose to work with Nature, as does the rest of my family. My wife, Christine Nabawanuka, and I plan and work together, and she manages the farm when I am away. My father, Wali Alwana Magala, the head of the family, is the farm’s pioneer. My mother, Kezia Nassozi, a farmer and exceptional cook, has cared for the farm since we were children. I also occasionally work with my four sisters and my brother whenever they are around. The farm becomes a great meeting point for the whole family, especially during school holidays when our children are also present.

A Small Six-Acre Farm with Great Biological Diversity

On this small six-acre farm, we maximize productivity by enhancing biological diversity across all plots. Through the collection and conservation of local seeds and varieties, we now cultivate over 20 different banana and plantain varieties, many of which belong to the East African Highland type, along with local rainbow maize and various sweet potato varieties. We also participate in a local bean seed saving and multiplication program, which includes 15 different East African bean varieties.

In addition, we grow crops such as vanilla, cocoa, Robusta coffee, arrowroot, several cassava varieties, fruit trees, vegetables, and medicinal plants, all cultivated using mixed and agroforestry systems. The farm’s main focus is to maximize land productivity by strengthening biodiversity both above and below ground—a key factor for resilient tropical farming systems in the face of a rapidly changing climate.

The mix of cropping systems follows an organized structure:

• The First Parcel is detached, located 200 meters from the main property. Managed as a traditional agroforestry plot with a no-tillage system, it features vanilla, Robusta coffee, and a few scattered banana plants growing under tall trees—some fruit-bearing, others native shade trees.
• The Main Farmland includes several plots, the most notable being the food forest, home to various tropical fruit trees, Robusta coffee, medicinal plants, vanilla, shade trees, bananas, cassava, coco yams, climbing yams, and wild vegetables like nightshades and black-jack. Adjacent to this is the cocoa plantation, planted beneath a large, old African Elemi tree (listed in the Ark of Taste), alongside scattered vanilla and old coffee plants.
• The Lower Parts of the farm are planted with various varieties of East African Highland Banana (Matooke), along with seasonal crops such as beans, sweet potatoes, cassava, maize, and plantain. The banana and plantain fields are separated by a new coffee plot intercropped with bananas and seasonal crops like beans, groundnuts, and peas.

Growing for the Market and for Self-Consumption

Coffee and vanilla are the primary income-generating crops, while bananas and beans are the dominant food crops, forming a significant part of our diet.

Locally, we sell coffee and cocoa to produce traders. We also sell dessert bananas (Bogoya and Ndizi) at the local market. The cooking bananas are sold to a local restaurant in Mukono when needed and regularly to catering groups preparing food for events. Most of the cooking bananas, however, are reserved for family consumption, especially during the low season.

The Tragedy of Ancient Coffees Disappearing

As an African farmer, my family has grown coffee alongside other crops for generations. My late grandfather’s coffee plantation, Lwanyonyi, was seized and converted into a maize monoculture and, eventually, a future luxury housing estate. It was one of the few low-lying hills once known for its lush, dark green vegetation, separating my hometown from the northern shores of Lake Victoria, in the heart of Uganda’s Robusta coffee region.

The tragedy we face today is the disappearance of these old coffee varieties, which were once the pride of Uganda’s coffee sector. They are being replaced by modern industrial varieties that, while offering higher yields, come with greater environmental demands.

One of my most cherished childhood memories is the many ways we enjoyed coffee. I remember the infusion made with local distillate and the roasted coffee beans. In my home community, it was common practice to offer coffee as a welcoming snack to travelers returning home or visitors arriving at the compound.

Collecting, Growing, and Multiplying Seeds

A key activity on the farm is the collection, cultivation, and multiplication of local seeds. Our current seed multiplication program includes fifteen different local bean varieties, three groundnut varieties, and a mix of local rainbow maize. We also grow several local varieties of cassava and sweet potatoes to preserve and multiply this seed diversity.

We exchange seeds with other farmers in the Slow Food communities and with seed banks managed by two Slow Food communities in the neighboring district of Buikwe.

Maintaining Soil Fertility and Water Management

Part of the farm sits on previously degraded land, which we have been working to regenerate for years. We use fermented compost made from animal waste and green materials to maintain soil fertility.

We keep 20 free-range goats and a few rabbits on a plot near my house, away from the main farm. These animals provide most of the manure, which we mix with plant materials such as weeds from the farm plots and coffee husks to make compost. The goats’ urine helps with pest control and is a valuable source of nitrogen for the bananas and plantains.

The goats and rabbits feed on weeds collected from the farm, banana leaves, and prunings from the ficus trees that support the vanilla. Prunings from calliandra trees in the main banana orchard also provide fodder during the dry season. The goats’ dung is then returned to the fields, completing the natural cycle of soil fertility.

Pictures and videos related to this story are part of a joint campaign by Slow Food and TerraProject Photographers, a collective of documentary photographers founded in Italy in 2006. Its members are Michele Borzoni, Simone Donati, Pietro Paolini, and Rocco Rorandelli. With a focus on both Italian realities and the most pressing social and environmental issues, the members of TerraProject have produced numerous individual and group projects, experimenting with an original collective approach to storytelling.