“No Longer at Ease With the Charcoal Business” Richard

The appreciation of sustainable charcoal production as a concept at Camp Besania was sparked off by a road expansion exercise and the timely employment of Richard as an outdoor worker. The rural-urban migrant presented himself a perfect fit for the job given his years of experience in outdoor work including bush clearing, peasant farming, slashing,

Home-made charcoal briquettes

Cooking on home-made briquettes brings me memories of how I spent the peak months of Covid19 lockdown. As a work-loving person I had to invest my time and keep healthy. Whatever I was to do must be entrepreneurial, home-based and hustle-free. It must bring me joy and add value to the common good. What better

When the pretty squirrels get nasty

Tree squirrels have found their way into the hard-to-access attics of our cottages at Camp Besania.  Dead or alive, they must be shown the exit before they wreck havoc especially by rotting the attics, gnawing holes in the ceiling, chewing on electric wires and wooden supports as well as harbor and spread fleas and ticks.

Jungle Chicken

“Free, free, free organic eggs and meat on offer”, cluck the indigenous chicken to all and sundry. We are low-maintenance free-rangers, scavenging from the wealth of Mother Nature’s insects, domestic and agricultural waste plus grass that doubles as our medicine. We love the sun and sleep in the dark of the night.  We are beautiful

SMALL PONDING

Building a conservation campsite ministry in water starved area, we were delighted when the survey report revealed that Camp Besania’s land extends a few meters into a wetland that is fast chocking with gardens and a few houses. With all excitement we started excavating a small pond into the water table for a calming effect

Lyrics of the woods

Silent we stand, our presence not only seen, but felt Wherever we are, we bring life for man and beasts The air is iltered by us, providing pure oxygen Yes, oxygen, the life sustaining gas for the Planet Small birds and animals find a place to call home Organic foods and medicines we offer with

Campsite blooms

Nothing describes the glorious wild blooms of Camp Besania grassland during the rainy season. Nature’s gift to our sight and to the pollinators. Thank you Lord! “All things bright and wonderful/All creatures great and small/All things bright and beautiful/The Lord God made them all// Each little flower that opens/Each little bird that sings/He made their

Nature cannot be hurried

Although Camp Besania is at the border of Wakiso and Luwero districts, it is part of the Nakasongola climate zone whose characteristic features are sparse and thorny trees, wild flowers, thickets, grassland, non-woody plants, subterranean termites, red ants, stony soils, short rains and high instances of drought.  Years of hard work, patience and tree-conscious planning

Honey Hoops

From my meditation corner in the Bamboo Hall, I noticed a bee that was buzzing around this bee hive that was under construction by the resident carpenter who doubles as a gardener. He claimed he knew how to make bee hives and we half-heartedly asked him to demonstrate with two samples. We had planned to

Conservation on private land

So much effort is put into protecting gazetted forests and wetlands without a care about the extensive nature destruction on private land! The owners freely erase the trees by virtue of the authority they have as title holders. Construction, fuel harvesting, brick burning and the mass-grading approach to land development by estate developers is taking

Let’s go pig-smart

The dietary cultures of many societies and religions raise mixed feelings about pigs, considering them to be unclean. Jesus cared less about exorcising a legion of demons from a precious human soul into a herd of swine that went wild and drowned.  Many societies have several funny nicknames to disguise pork and the pig. The

The Green Gardener

This healthy banana plant is growing under a natal fig tree (omutuba in Luganda) a big root of which was chopped into two to create room for the deep and wide hole in which the sucker was planted. Because the ground is stony and rocky, the deep hole was backfilled with loam soil and a

Whispers of stony earth

In all geographical areas, God has placed natural resources to support human life provided they are sustainably utilized. So it is with the stony camp grounds of Besania. Start from your strength and explore the diversity beyond what tradition thinks your land is worth. At Camp Besania we could choose to lament the erratic rains,