About Us

The implementing Organization, Badilisha is a Non Profit Organization that was initiated in the year 2010.

Badilisha has a long history with nature based activities.

It has acted as a regional hub for permaculture training, Resources center demonstration, outreaches with contact farmers.

Besides this, our organization is the driving force behind the Rusinga hills restoration initiative, a project we started a few years ago to try and bring back the Islands’ past glory.

Permaculture

Badilisha Eco Village promotes permaculture farm design techniques and ethics: Earth Care, People Care and Share of Surplus. It is a model farm, or epicentre, for both sustainable agriculture and holistic community development.

Our collection of permaculture initiatives provide some remedies to the challenges facing Rusinga Island as a result of the dramatic loss of biodiversity.

We have a permaculture educational centre where people can come to learn different ways of working with the land to improve their lives and return to living in abundance.

The Centre is run by its Executive Director, Evans Odula.

Community

Badilisha is inspiring some amazing new community projects which will improve the ecology of the island and return it to its former fertility.

Rusinga Island is a 44 square kilometre island on the edge of Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa. It is home to about 30,000 people, the majority of whom rely on agriculture and fishing.

Most people are living below the poverty line, on less than 1 US dollar a day. But with a little help from their friends abroad they are turning things around remarkable quickly.

Badilisha is at the centre of initiatives such as reforestation, permaculture and caring for the children of AIDS victims.

Education

Badilisha’s educational centre has steered various educational initiatives in Rusinga Island.

  • Fishing beaches sanitation
  • Permaculture training and demonstrations
  • Anti-domestic violence campaigns
  • Support to orphans and vulnerable children through feeding programs and education
  • Support to local schools through basic infrastructural developments.

But because of the vastness of the Island, much more needs to be done.

OUR PROJECTS

Books for Trees

We have partnered with BOOKS FOR TREES organization to set up a travelling library for schools with interest in our restoration work.

The travelling library has books with nature based topics as well as books which are being used in the current Ministry of education syllabus.

Transitioning Villages to Agroforestry

One of the best ways to get more trees is to ask everyone to plant some. This project helps villages in Rusinga Island community to transition to Agroforestry by distributing seedlings to the people who need it most and by providing sustainable agricultural practices including permaculture so that the trees can boost agriculture yield and food production.

Forest Protection

Due to constant destruction of the indigenous trees on the hills by the community, Protection Patrols of hills by our volunteer forest guards was the only possible strategy to employ.

This was after massive awareness campaigns and community.