Wrapping up the 2011 work in Uganda

During my work last spring with Pamoja Cleantech in Uganda I was concentrated on looking at the biomass chain as well as the environmental impacts of the system. The focus of my work shifted once we started to collaborate with local research institute CREEC (Center for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation) and got a chance to get a pilot project. After getting our hands on a big possibility, my job with my colleagues was to find the right location for the pilot project. With the research institute we identified many criteria’s for the site and of course the access to right kind of a biomass was essential. At that time we were also looking at the biomass chain and especially the long term planning that included woody biomass. While figuring out how to use wood in a sustainable way for electricity production we were meeting with different NGO´s that are working in the field of agroforestry, agriculture and renewable energy. After meeting with a Swedish NGO Vi-Skogen that has been working in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya for 25 years we found the right partner on the grass root level to work with. The NGO works in different districts in Uganda and since the pilot project will include research on behalf of the research institute and Pamoja, we decided to target the district closes to Kampala, the capital of Uganda where CREEC is located. As a part of their activities VI-Skogen is working with farmers and helps them to form farmers groups and co-operatives. After visiting few groups and looking into their production and group dynamics we ended up on concentrating on Magara farmer’s co-operation witch has 70 farmers and 120 households. The main product of the co-operation excluding the crops for domestic use is coffee and coffee husks can turned in to electricity in the system that uses gasification for treating the biomass.

Part of my job was also to strengthen the link and cooperation between the European and Ugandan team and support them. Pamoja cleantech in Uganda is operating under Ugandan industrial research institute UIRI and the facilities for example office space, IT and laboratory services are provided. UIRI also accommodated my self and the other members of the team from KTH Royal Institute of Technology of Sweden.

Every day in Uganda was different both at work and at free time. Due to the liberal nature of my work I defined my own work tasks and timetables quite freely and worked quite independently. I got many contact information’s beforehand and in the beginning I mainly organized meeting with different organizations, companies and Universities. In my opinion networking has never been so easy. Making appointments was so uncomplicated and making appointments in short notice was always possible. People in Uganda, the locals and expats were really helpful, friendly and happy to share their contacts with me. Even though I was learning a lot by working I think that the biggest learning happened just by living a “normal” life in Uganda, experiencing new things and exposing my self to unfamiliar situations. Having the right attitude and open mind helped me a lot at work and out side of it. I felt comfortable and confident most of the time and especially my self-confidence grew a lot since I got responsibilities and quite free hands to suggest new ideas. Life in Africa is so totally different from any more or less developed European country and even though I enjoyed every second of it, it wasn’t easy. People in Uganda live a harsh and hard life. And everyday life really is a struggle for most of the people. One really learns to appreciate being born in a privileged position, in Finland

My future plans didn´t change so much after going to Africa for the first time since I´been really interested about Africa and wanted to work in the developing countries my whole life. Actually I became surer about my future plans. The work with Pamoja also opened many new doors for me. I also got involved in Aalto University’s future projects in Uganda, so it seems that the next year (and hopefully the upcoming years as well) will be tightly connected to Uganda.